iUniverse.com To Focus on Author Publishing Business

Posted on June 27, 2002

iUniverse, a provider of print-on-demand and epublishing services, has announced plans to expand its author programs and to centralize U.S. operations at its Lincoln, Nebraska facility. Publishers Weekly reported that iUniverse is closing its corporate documents business to focus on author publishing and laying off 36 employees.

iUniverse will be closing its current corporate headquarters in Campbell, California as it centralizes operations in Lincoln, Nebraska. As part of the move iUniverse will also be recruiting new management positions in the Lincoln-Omaha area. The company stated that new key hires will include a Publisher to manage several book imprints, a book-packaging expert, and a number of marketing and sales professionals. iUniverse will also maintain its long-standing operations and development center in Shanghai, China.

Over the next few months iUniverse plans to unveil a number of new programs, including sales programs and promotional tools, and expand its relationships with distributors and retailers. iUniverse also announced that it recently passed the "million book marker," indicating the company has sold more than 1 million books.

"Centralizing our senior management, customer service, marketing and back-office operations in one location means we can better serve our customers and operate more efficiently as we grow the business," said Steve Dunbar, Vice President and General Manager of the Author Publishing Business Unit at iUniverse. "Lincoln�s central location, highly qualified workforce, and excellent standard of living, makes for a strong base of U. S. operations."