Below I have info on a contest that’s Steelheart-related (sorry, for the US and Canada only). But first some updates.

This week’s Writing Excuses podcast episode covers chapter breakdowns—what determines our chapter breaks? How do we handle POV shifts, scene/sequel balance, and other considerations when we’re carving our stories into chapters?

My assistant Peter has uploaded another Twitter posts archive, this one covering the past month. And Tor.com has put up another Ecology of Roshar post, about purple and orange blood.

I’m pleased to announce that my novel The Alloy of Law (or L’Alliage de Justice in French) has won France’s Imaginales Festival prize for best translated novel. I’m deeply honored. I feel overwhelmed by the respect I’ve been paid by the French science fiction and fantasy community. Having spent my teenage years studying and learning French, it’s particularly gratifying to me to find such a welcome home among the community there.

When I got back from the The Rithmatist tour, I found this waiting for me from Delacorte, the publisher of my upcoming YA novel Steelheart.

This is the Random House Mega Vault. Random House has graciously donated three of them to be given away. And yes, that case is real metal. Not sure what type, but I suspect an Allomancer could make use of it.

Opening the Mega Vault:

Inside are copies of the first books in three new series releasing this fall. The Eye of Minds by James Dashner releases October 8th. Teardrop by Lauren Kate releases October 22nd. And of course, Steelheart, my post-apocalyptic young adult novel about normal people assassinating the powerful evil Epics who rule mankind. Steelheart releases September 24th.

I’m sure the other two books are also appetizing reads. Though Dashner’s book could use some salt.

Want to get your hands on one of our three Mega Vaults? Here’s what you do.

Step 1: Read the prologue to Steelheart at this link.

Step 2: Create some awesome fan art based on the prologue. Let’s keep it to the visual arts. So, original illustrations, sketches, comic book panels, Photoshopped images, etc. Even videos, if you want to get that ambitious. Please keep the images tasteful and “safe for work.”

Step 3: Log in to the Brandon Sanderson fan forums at The 17th Shard. I know making an account somewhere can be a hassle, but other methods we considered for organizing this were just too complicated logistically.

Step 4: Post your image in their Steelheart Mega Vault Contest gallery. To post, click the black “upload” button in the upper right-hand corner. Click “choose file” and upload as usual. Click “review and publish.” Add a title and description if you want, then finish and publish it. The webmasters on the forums will approve all images before they are posted.

Step 5: You’ll have a week to submit—the deadline is July 15th. After the deadline, the webmasters and my assistants Peter and Isaac will narrow down the submissions to ten unannounced semifinalists. From those ten, I’ll pick my three favorites, whose creators will each receive one of the Mega Vaults from Random House. Note that they can only ship to the United States and Canada, so please accept my apologies if you live outside these areas.

I’m looking forward to seeing what you all come up with! Good luck!