IAC, Scott Rudin and Frances Coady Announce the Launch of Brightline, a New Publishing Venture; Brightline to Enter Into Strategic Partnership with Atavist, a Leading Publishing Platform to Distribute Content

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Sep 19, 2012, 09:00 ET

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 [email protected].

Contact Information:
IAC Corporate Communications
Justine Sacco / [email protected]
(212) 314-7326

IAC Investor Relations
Nick Stoumpas / [email protected]
(212) 314 - 7495

SOURCE IAC