Pronoun is a relaunched self-publishing platform built from the capabilities of Vook plus acquisitions Booklr and Byliner. The company says it prioritizes author support, transparency, control over pricing, and enabling authors to benefit from technological advances. It has published a manifesto titled "How to fix book publishing" that outlines those goals and critiques deceptive practices in the self-publishing industry. The platform has not yet launched publicly. CEO Josh Brody has said the company will align itself with authors while pursuing business opportunities as technology changes publishing. Pronoun plans to use new funding for product development and hiring. Vook publishes mixed-media content called 'Vooks' that integrate video, text, images and social sharing into a unified reading experience. Its platform helps publishers, authors and media companies recreate and distribute existing content in formats optimized for tablets, e-readers and smartphones. The company has partnerships with a number of book publishers and agents and has produced Vooks with bestselling authors including Deepak Chopra, Seth Godin, and Tom Peters. Vook has launched a digital e-book imprint that is slated to deliver 500 'how to' and educational titles later this year. Founded in 2008 by Bradley Inman, the team includes experienced Internet entrepreneurs with prior exits. Financially, Vook raised $5.25 million in Series A financing from VantagePoint Venture Partners and Floodgate after a $2.5 million seed round the prior year. Vook launched in late 2009 as a digital publisher that blends text, video, pictures, social media and links to create a new book experience. Its "vook" titles are streamed to a browser-based reader and are also available as a mobile application. The company has formed strategic relationships with publishers including Simon & Schuster, HarperStudio and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. and is announcing titles with bestselling writers such as Seth Godin and Anne Rice. Vook is headquartered in Alameda, California, with offices in New York. The company recently raised $2.5M in seed financing and plans to use the funding to accelerate growth and support massive scale in 2010.

Total raised

$9M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jun 2015