Deadline’s Mike Fleming first reported in July that Barry Diller and Scott Rudin
were in exploratory talks for the e-book business and now it’s official. Rudin and publishing exec Frances Coady have formed a partnership with Diller in a venture called Brightline, the New York Times reports. It will publish e-books and eventually physical books in a partnership with Brooklyn-based publisher Atavist, which has expertise in producing electronic books and articles.
Atavist and Brightline will exchange an undetermined amount of minority equity interests in each other’s ventures, and Diller’s
IAC/Interactive will provide $20 million in capital to build out Brightline as a publisher in addition to making investments in Atavist, according to the Times.
Brightline and Atavist will remain separate for the time being and the books will be published under the Atavist name. No author has yet been signed by Brightline.
Related: Barry Diller And Scott Rudin In Talks To Launch E-Book Business


Rudin. Genius.
Just another way to own your intellectual property. Only minimal need for middlemen in this business anymore and most tasks can be outsourced or contracted piecemeal. Authors, steer clear.
Nice – no more time for Barry to focus on Electus … not that he ever really did …
Writers! Remember where these two were hot-housed! They were schooled in the fine art of “Hollywood Bookkeeping”…
Fair Warning…
It will be interesting to see how aggressive they get. The boilerplate agreements could be fascinating. Book contracts are some of the least negotiable media contracts out there, without clout like basic cable TV. If they arranged some give in royalty rates and the concept of “earn-out” they could draw quite a crowd at the right time indeed especially with Rudin’s author contacts as he’s particularly good with fiction. Sharp move generally it seems to me.
Does Scott Rudin get first look on movie rights for the juiciest properties?