Yippee-ki-ay. I’ve just sprinted past the halfway point - 10,000 words - spurred on by vegetables and lots and lots of caffeine. I feel newly new.

Which is exactly the appropriate time - 2:07am - to break some pretty big news. Big for me at least. And for Pond.

Below is a press release I’m about to send out to the trade press. I can count the people who know about this on the fingers of two hands - or three if you count the lawyers and accountants who are inevitably very involved. So please, please don’t feel like I was keeping you in the dark if you’re someone who I would normally have told . As you can appreciate, it’s one of those things that has to be done with a lot of secrecy or it becomes even more expensive than it already is. So, sorry about that.

Questions at the end…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Carr leaves The Friday Project to lead buy-out of online publishing division

Paul Carr, co-founder of cross-media publishing house, The Friday Project, has today announced that he is leading a buy-out of the company’s online division, Friday Online.

The move will see Carr acquire, for an undisclosed sum, a controlling stake in the division responsible for publications including critically acclaimed satirical e-zine, The Friday Thing and the London-based city guide, London by London.

It comes as Friday Online prepares to launch its most ambitious online property to date, codenamed Fridaycities.

Carr explains: “When Clare and I founded The Friday Project, our business plan was to find the best new talent on the web and turn it into excellent books. As a secondary aim, we planned to develop a number of online properties of our own that might also provide material for books. As it turns out, while the book arm continues to grow at a phenomenal rate, the web side of things has been incredibly successful in its own right too. With the imminent launch of Fridaycities, this seemed like the right time to consider how we could allow Friday Online to achieve its full potential, without straying too far from The Friday Project’s core business. After lots of debate, and an appreciation of how inherently risky Internet businesses can be, we decided that the best approach would be to use a buy-out to allow Friday Online to grow separately.”

The Friday Project retains a significant stake in the new business and Carr will continue to work closely with the company on all aspects of its web-to-print publishing activities. Friday Books will continue to grow under the direction of Managing Director Clare Christian and Commercial Director, Scott Pack

Along with Carr, the buy-out sees the departure from TFP of Online Editor, Graham Pond, who becomes Editor-in-Chief of the new company. The new company will also take on the entire editorial team and group of developers responsible for The Friday Thing and Fridaycities.

Ends

…

Notes for Editors
Paul Carr can be contacted via paul@thefridayproject.co.uk or on 07050 207490. His new personal blog, on which he’ll be documenting the launch of the new company (amongst other things), can be found at http://alljustwords.blogspot.com

Clare Christian, Managing Director of The Friday Project can be contacted via clare@thefridayproject.co.uk

Ok. FAQs…

Q: So you’re leaving TFP?
A: Yes

Q: And so is Pond?
A: Yes.

Q: To start a new company, with Friday Online as the basis?
A: Yes.

Q: That sounds ambitious. And quite expensive.
A: Yes.

Q: But exciting.
A: Yes.

Q: Well done for deciding to do it in the same week as you’re staying up all night to write a book.
A: That’s not a question. But thanks.

Q: But what about The Friday Project?
A: The Friday Project, having been trading for a year and a half, is reaching its cruising altitude - currently beating all of its Christmas sales targets. We’re all really thrilled with how its going and, with Clare and Scott at the helm, it’s going to go from strength to strength. I’m staying on as a shareholder and as a close advisor. But there’s a huge amount of scope to apply the formula/ethos/attitude we developed at The Friday Project in other areas - particularly online. And that’s what this new company will do.

Q: Fuck.
A: I know.

Right. Sorry to be so abrupt, but I wanted to post that here first. There’s lots more to say, obviously, including loads more details of the new company and I’ll get to that just as soon as I’ve got this manuscript to the people waiting for it. Do feel free to give me a shout - paul@thefridayproject.co.uk - if you want to know anything else in the meantime.

Right - back the grindstone…

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