Random House Purchases Minority Stake in Xlibris

Posted on April 4, 2000

Random House Ventures, the investment subsidiary of Random House, Inc., a leading trade book publisher, has acquired a significant minority position in Xlibris, a provider of direct publishing services for authors. The strategic partnership between the two companies was announced today by John Feldcamp, Chief Executive Officer of Xlibris, and Richard Sarnoff, President of Random House Ventures. Two Random House Ventures executives will join Xlibris' board, but will have no direct involvement in the management or operation of Xlibris, according to the companies.

Xlibris also announced that its basic book publishing service will be free to all writers. Writers will also retain all rights to their own work. Xlibris manages the book design and publication. Its digital archives file and store the contents, which are printed on demand in single, or short–run quantities and are made available through traditional and online retail and distribution channels, as well as through Xlibris' website.

Richard Sarnoff observed, " With the ease and skill by which they make it possible for any writer to publish their work, Xlibris is poised to become an appealing choice for many prospective authors. We admire John Feldcamp and his team for having created a wonderful interactive service organization that is totally focused on the needs of the writing community. This financial and strategic alliance will provide emerging benefits for writers and readers as the Internet becomes more and more pervasive. "

John Feldcamp said, " We and our new strategic partner both strongly believe that every writer's work deserves an opportunity to reach its readership. Random House Ventures' investment and strategic commitment to Xlibris will help to make it possible to serve many more authors much more effectively, and to become the leading provider of publishing and other services for authors. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Internet has vast potential to improve people's lives, and now Xlibris is using the Web to improve the circumstances of authors in ways that were never before possible. "