iUniverse

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iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is one of the largest self-publishers in the United States, using print-on-demand technology to publish more than 5,000 new titles each year. iUniverse has strategic alliances with Barnes & Noble, Inc. in the U.S. and Chapters Indigo in Canada. iUniverse also has partnerships with The Authors Guild, the Harlem Writers Guild and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.^[1]

In September 2007, iUniverse was purchased by Author Solutions, the parent company of print-on-demand rival AuthorHouse.^[2] On January 22, 2008, Author Solutions announced iUniverse operations would move from Lincoln, Nebraska to Bloomington, Indiana to be co-located with AuthorHouse.^[3]. In June 2008, it was announced that Author Solutions would "onshore" iUniverse's Shanghai, China operations -- creating more than 140 new jobs in its Indiana headquarters over the next few years.^[4]

[edit] History

iUniverse initially focused on business-to-consumer print-on-demand publishing as well as publishing both new- and back-in-print titles. Barnes & Noble invested in the company and soon started offering iUniverse books for order online and through Barnes & Noble retail stores.^{[citation needed]} In 2001, Warburg Pincus also invested in iUniverse.

Partnerships were formed with IDG Books Worldwide, publisher of the "...for Dummies" series, Frommer's Travel Guides, and CliffsNotes. Additional partnerships were developed with Microsoft, Adobe, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Publishers Group West.

In 2003, Susan Driscoll, a traditional publishing-industry veteran of more than 20 years, was named iUniverse president and CEO.

In 2004, the first iUniverse title hit the New York Times Best Seller list with Amy Fisher's memoir If I Knew Then.^{[citation needed]} The title climbed to number 14 on the list and eventually became the best-selling book in iUniverse history, selling more than 34,000 copies.

On December 7, 2007, Kevin Weiss was named CEO of Author Solutions, the parent company of iUniverse and AuthorHouse. Weiss was formerly CEO of computer software company McAfee, Inc.

[edit] References