# Is "The Sunlit Man (Secret Project 4)" by Brandon Sanderson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sunlit Man (Secret Project 4) by Brandon Sanderson (Dragonsteel / Tor, 2023) is identified by: True first is the Dragonsteel premium hardcover (ISBN 978-1-938570-39-1, 446 pp.) released to Kickstarter backers October 1, 2023; the Tor trade hardcover (ISBN 9781250899712) followed March 5, 2024, stating First Edition with a number line descending to 1. Dragonsteel premium hardcover (October 2023) precedes the Tor trade edition (March 2024) by roughly three months; the Tor trade is the widely available first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Dragonsteel premium hardcover (ISBN 978-1-938570-39-1, 446 pp.) released to Kickstarter backers October 1, 2023; the Tor trade hardcover (ISBN 9781250899712) followed March 5, 2024, stating First Edition with a number line descending to 1
- Publisher imprint reads Dragonsteel / Tor
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Brandon Sanderson |
| Publisher | Dragonsteel / Tor |
| Year | 2023 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Dragonsteel premium hardcover (ISBN 978-1-938570-39-1, 446 pp.) released to Kickstarter backers October 1, 2023; the Tor… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the Dragonsteel premium hardcover (ISBN 978-1-938570-39-1, 446 pp.) released to Kickstarter backers October 1, 2023; the Tor trade hardcover (ISBN 9781250899712) followed March 5, 2024, stating First Edition with a number line descending to 1.

## Is this the true first?
Dragonsteel premium hardcover (October 2023) precedes the Tor trade edition (March 2024) by roughly three months; the Tor trade is the widely available first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Two distinct editions: the Dragonsteel premium hardcover (ISBN 978-1-938570-39-1) versus the Tor trade hardcover (ISBN 9781250899712); later Tor printings drop the 1 from the number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sunlit Man (Secret Project 4)* by Brandon Sanderson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sunlit-man-secret-project-4
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.