Barnes & Noble Invests in iUniverse.com

Posted on November 3, 1999

Barnes & Noble, Inc. has announced it has acquired a 49 percent ownership interest in iUniverse.com. It is the company's first major investment in a book publishing venture. iUniverse.com offers recognized authors and first-time writers editorial services, marketing, distribution and print-on-demand technology

"This investment is about giving authors with small voices the loudspeakers they need to get their works published and distributed throughout the world," said Steve Riggio, vice chairman of Barnes & Noble Inc. "Just as Barnes & Noble has put books in the hands of more readers, iUniverse.com will allow more authors to publish and distribute their work and make the phrase 'out-of-print' obsolete. We're providing iUniverse.com with the marketing power to become one of the largest publishers in the world - overnight."

"We're serving notice that the rules in publishing have changed. The current way of publishing ignores millions of talented new writers and the millions of books that are out-of-print," said Richard Tam, founder and chief executive officer of iUniverse.com. "We now have the capacity to publish 2,000 titles a month, and by next year, we'll publish tens of thousands of titles, making us one of the world's largest publishers. We have not only developed the world's most efficient publishing process, but we give authors control over their own destiny."

Beginning November 22, more than 500 Barnes & Noble stores will feature in-store displays, books and other materials about the services provided by iUniverse.com. iUniverse.com titles will also be available through barnesandnoble.com., and prominently featured throughout the site.