The history of A Memory of Light

The title A Memory of Light is not only used for the final book in the series, but also as an all-encompassing term for the final three books of The Wheel of Time. The history of A Memory of Light includes details left by Robert Jordan and information from Brandon Sanderson.
==History of the name==
Previously, the name was the working title for the twelfth novel of The Wheel 
of Time when it was planned to be the final volume in the series, before the book was split into three volumes (see below). The novel was incomplete at the time of Robert Jordan's death and is being completed by fellow fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson. Due to the size of the novel, it was split and published in three volumes. The first volume was released on October 27, 2009 as The Gathering Storm. The second volume was released on November 2, 2010 as Towers of Midnight, and the third volume, A Memory of Light, was released on January 8, 2013.''
Scheduled for publication by in late 2009, it was intended to conclude the series, which began in 1990 with The Eye of the World. On September 16, 2007, Robert Jordan died from . Before his death, Jordan stated "I'm getting out notes, so if the worst actually happens, someone could finish A Memory of Light and have it end the way I want it to end." The decision whether to posthumously complete the book was left to his wife Harriet Rigney and Tor Books president .
On September 27, 2007, the following was posted on Robert Jordan's official blog in regard to the future plans for the book:
{{quote|[Robert Jordan] left some pretty detailed notes on what would happen. He, Harriet, and [others], all know the endings and secrets. There are both written notes and audio recordings of Jim saying what happened.[...] How or when we’ll see A Memory of Light in published form needs to be worked out. Jim’s death is too recent and the wounds it left too raw to his family to say when the last volume will be completed. Time will provide us with the book we want, and the conclusion the series deserves. We just have to be patient.
===Brandon Sanderson picks up the mantle===
On December 7, 2007, announced that has been chosen to finish writing the book.Tor and Forge Books Press Release In late 2008 Brandon Sanderson confirmed that the book will probably end up at between 675,000 and 700,000 words in length, making it far too long to publish in a single volume. Although initially he had hoped to publish both volumes together in November 2009 if this happened, the extra writing time required for the second volume makes it likely that the second volume would not be published until the spring of 2010, on or around the twentieth anniversary of The Eye of the World being published.Sanderson book signing at Huntingdown Beach, 01-11-08
In March 2009 Sanderson confirmed that he has completed 440,000 words out of a target goal of 750,000 for the combined two volumes, and indicated a formal announcement would be made at JordanCon (17-19 April 2009), where he, Tom Doherty (the head of Tor Books) and Robert Jordan's widow and editor Harriet would be in attendance. Subsequent to the author's death, Brandon Sanderson confirmed that the entire ending sequence of the book was penned by Robert Jordan prior to his death, and Sanderson sees his task as getting the readers from the prologue to the ending.
===Split in publication===
On 25 March 2009, it was confirmed that A Memory of Light has been split into three volumes.Tor announces The Gathering Storm The first volume will be called The Gathering Storm and published in October 2009, with the remaining two volumes published at one-year intervals. Contrary to early designs of the cover art, the three books will not be numbered as part of A Memory of Light rather they will retain the traditional numbering as books in The Wheel of Time
It has been confirmed that the final two books will be named Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light, respectively.The Gathering Storm – US book cover
==See also==
* What is yet to happen
==External links==
* Dragonmount's Wheel of Time News
* Robert Jordan's Official Blog
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