NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IAC (NASDAQ:
IACI), Scott Rudin and Frances Coady today announced the launch of
Brightline, a multiplatform publishing venture for digital and
traditional publishing with an emphasis on new business models.
Scott Rudin, the award winning film,
television, and theatrical producer, is a full partner in the
venture, and will be a principal in all its activities.
Frances Coady, a prominent
publishing executive, is the former Publisher of Vintage UK,
Jonathan Cape, Chatto & Windus,
Vintage and Pimlico at Random House UK, Granta and Picador.
Ms. Coady will serve as President and Publisher of Brightline and
will be the senior executive in all its operational activities.
Brightline plans to publish original short and long form literary
fiction and non-fiction with its first titles expected to be
released in mid 2013. As a principal part of this venture,
Brightline has entered into an exclusive publishing partnership
with Brooklyn-based Atavist, a
leading software platform for publishing and distributing content
for mobile apps, the web, and e-readers. Atavist is also the
creator of The Atavist, an online publication which
publishes non-fiction stories. Brightline will use Atavist's
technology to publish both enhanced and text-only digital
publications across all devices including iOS, Android, Kindle,
Nook and Kobo. Brightline will publish its titles under the Atavist
brand and through the soon to be re-launched Atavist website and
application. Atavist will continue to expand both its software
licensing and its own publishing operations, producing original
non-fiction.
Brightline and Atavist will exchange minority equity interests
in each other's business.
"Publishing will change more in the next ten years than it has
in the last hundred," said Barry
Diller, Chairman and Senior Executive, IAC. "Go
to Atavist on an iPad and see their remarkable integration of text,
data, voice and video. Go to Frances
Coady's deep and broad expertise in publishing over the last
20 years, and then go to Scott
Rudin's ingenuity and creativity across films, television,
and theater. We have the resources and they have the
ability, using Atavist's technology and digital smarts, to play a
continuing and significant role in that transformation."
"Nearly every film I've produced has started with a piece of
first rate literary material. Nothing tops it. The opportunity to
play a role in the publishing and promotion of great work by great
authors in this exciting new venture, with Barry Diller, Frances
Coady and Atavist, represents an entirely new way of
supporting and encouraging literary excellence," said Scott Rudin.
"It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to invent a new
publishing model at a moment when the business faces a tectonic
shift. To do so with the support of Scott
Rudin and Barry Diller, and
in collaboration with the amazingly creative team at Atavist is
truly exhilarating," said Frances
Coady.
"In Brightline we've found the ideal partner, seeking new ways
to bring to life the highest quality, innovative fiction and
non-fiction," said Evan Ratliff,
editor and CEO of Atavist. "The collected accomplishments of
Frances Coady, Scott Rudin, and Barry
Diller speak for themselves, and we are delighted that they
not only share our vision for transforming publishing, but have the
incredible talent to help us deliver it."
About Frances Coady
Ms. Coady is an internationally acclaimed editor and
publisher with more than 20 years of experience. Since 2000,
Ms. Coady served as the Publisher at Picador where she worked with
bestselling authors like Augusten Burroughs, Jeffrey Eugenides, Alan
Bennett, Naomi Klein and
others, driving all facets of Picador's paperback business.
Prior to Picador, Ms. Coady re-invented and re-launched the book
division of Granta as a fully independent publisher of both
hardcovers and paperbacks. Ms. Coady joined Granta after a
nine year tenure at Random House UK where she was the founding
publisher of the highly successful Vintage imprint, and became the
Publishing Director of the newly formed literary trade division, a
position that made her one of the most powerful women in British
publishing.
Scott Rudin (Producer)
Films include: Frances
Ha; Moonrise Kingdom; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo;
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close; Moneyball; Margaret; The
Social Network; True Grit; Greenberg; It's Complicated; Fantastic
Mr. Fox; Julie & Julia; Doubt; No Country for Old Men; There
Will Be Blood; Reprise; The Queen; Margot at the Wedding; Notes on
a Scandal; Venus; Closer; Team America: World Police; I Heart
Huckabees; School of Rock; The Hours; Iris; The Royal Tenenbaums;
Zoolander; Sleepy Hollow; Wonder
Boys; Bringing Out the Dead; South Park: Bigger, Longer &
Uncut; The Truman Show; In & Out; Ransom; The First Wives Club;
Clueless; Nobody's Fool; The Firm; Searching for Bobby Fischer; Sister Act; The Addams
Family.
Theatre includes: Passion; Hamlet; Seven Guitars; A
Funny Thing Happened On The Way to The Forum; Skylight; The Chairs;
The Blue Room; Closer; Amy's View; Copenhagen; The Designated Mourner; The Goat,
or Who is Sylvia?; Caroline, or Change; The Normal Heart; Who's
Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Doubt;
Faith Healer; The History Boys; Shining City; Stuff Happens; The
Vertical Hour; The Year of Magical Thinking; Gypsy; God of Carnage;
Fences; The House of Blue Leaves; Jerusalem; The Motherf**ker with the Hat; The
Book of Mormon; One Man, Two
Guvnors; Death of a Salesman.
Television includes: The Newsroom (HBO)
About IAC
IAC (NASDAQ: IACI) is a leading media and Internet company
comprised of more than 150 brands and products, including
Match.com, Ask.com, CollegeHumor, and CityGrid Media. Focused in
the areas of Search, Personals, Local and Media, IAC's family of
websites is one of the largest in the world, with nearly a billion
monthly visits across more than 30 countries. The company is
headquartered in New York City
with offices in various locations throughout the U.S. and
internationally. To view a full list of the companies of IAC,
please visit our website at www.iac.com.
About Atavist
Atavist is a media and software company at the forefront of
digital, mobile publishing. Our mission is to enable the next
generation of multimedia storytelling, reaching readers across
mobile devices and the web. Our flagship publishing arm, The
Atavist, features award-winning original pieces of longform,
non-fiction journalism sold individually on mobile devices and
ereaders. We also built a unique "create once, publish everywhere"
software platform that seamlessly integrates audio, video, and
infinitely customizable interactive elements into digital
magazines, ebooks, and other digital publications. Available as a
web-based service, Atavist's platform lets publishers, authors, and
other creatives produce their content everywhere: to native apps,
HTML5 apps, a web viewer, as well as ebook files for any
ereader. To learn more, go to atavist.com or email
media@atavist.com.
Contact Information:
IAC Corporate Communications
Justine Sacco /
justine.sacco@iac.com
(212) 314-7326
IAC Investor Relations
Nick Stoumpas /
nick.stoumpas@iac.com
(212) 314 - 7495
SOURCE IAC