Open Source Text Publisher Gets More Financing

Flat World Knowledge, a year-old company that plans to publish free open source college textbooks, has received $700,000 in new financing, bringing total investment in the startup to $1.4 million. The company has also announced a number of new appointments, including that of former Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Newcomb to its board of advisors.

Flat World co-founder Jeff Shelstad said that given the current economic climate, he was “pleased” to complete the new financing deal. A larger round of investment is expected to be completed within the next six months.

Under the Flat World model, the company will publish open source textbooks that students can download for free; it hopes to make its money by selling various options to the online text, ranging from print-on-demand print versions to audio downloads. No advertising is accepted. The texts, which are written by authors signed by Flat World, can be customized by instructors.

Full article at Publisher’s Weekly