The buzz around Dragonsteel Nexus 2027 just got a shake-up, with news that the event won’t be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center as many fans had expected. Author Brandon Sanderson has now acknowledged the venue change, confirming that plans are shifting behind the scenes.
On his YouTube channel, the Mistborn author said:
We are announcing right now that Nexus 2027 is going to be in Denver, Colorado… So, we are going to be in Colorado for the next few years. Theoretically, it could change. There could be one of them that we go somewhere else in. But you should expect in general we’re going to be in Colorado through 2030.
The move to Denver, Colorado was driven mainly by cost and accessibility for fans. After comparing multiple locations, Sanderson’s team found that hotel prices, travel costs, and overall expenses were significantly lower in Denver compared to other options.
Why Dragonsteel Nexus Is Leaving Salt Palace Convention Center
Brandon Sanderson / Credits: @BrandSanderson on YouTube
Dragonsteel Nexus is leaving the Salt Palace Convention Center for a simple but unavoidable reason: the venue is shutting down for a major downtown Salt Lake City construction project.
The Salt Palace Convention Center will be unavailable from 2027 through 2030, meaning it won’t be an option for Nexus in the near future. Sanderson, however, hopes to return in 2031, possibly timed to coincide with the release of The Stormlight Archive Book 6.
Since the Salt Palace has long been the only venue in Utah large enough to host Dragonsteel Nexus at its scale, the shutdown forced organizers to act early rather than scramble later.
Fortunately, the change didn’t come as a surprise. The team had advance notice that redevelopment was coming — just not that it would start as soon as next year — so they used the past few years to scout alternative locations across the country.
After evaluating multiple cities and venues, they found a space that could still handle Nexus’s size while being practical for fans and travel, and that’s Denver, Colorado.
What the Venue Change Means for Dragonsteel Attendees and Fans
Dragonsteel Nexus / Credits: @dragonsteelbooks on Instagram
Dragonsteel Nexus / Credits: @dragonsteelbooks on Instagram
Dragonsteel Nexus / Credits: @dragonsteelbooks on Instagram
The venue change for Dragonsteel Nexus is a big shift, but for most attendees, it’s less about losing the experience and more about adjusting how to get there. With the move away from the Salt Palace Convention Center and toward a new host city, fans will likely see changes in travel routes and hotel options, but the core convention experience remains the same.
For many attendees, including guest writers for Dragonsteel Nexus, the biggest immediate impact is cost and accessibility. Around 70% of Nexus attendees come from out of state, so the switch to Denver is expected to be just as accessible, or even easier, for many fans, depending on where they’re traveling from.
There’s also the experience factor. A new venue means a new layout, new surrounding city energy, and potentially a different flow for panels, signings, and events. While that can feel unfamiliar at first, it also opens the door for improvements.
Ticketing is getting a major adjustment. Because the new venue in Denver is larger than the Salt Palace, the team is planning to experiment with a no-cap initial ticket sale, allowing more people to get in without the immediate rush and sell-out pressure.
In past years, only about 75% of interested attendees could be accommodated, so the expanded space opens the door to potentially welcoming that remaining 25% without sacrificing safety or comfort.
Overall, the change doesn’t really alter what Dragonsteel Nexus is about, which is the community and the shared excitement around Sanderson’s works. It simply relocates that experience for fans.
Event:Dragonsteel Nexus 2026Founder:Brandon SandersonVenue:Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, UtahSchedule:December 3–5, 2026
Are you attending this year’s Dragonsteel Nexus? Let us know in the comments!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
