Hackett bookish after Internet sale

Internode founder Simon Hackett is behind the launch of Australia’s newest cross-platform book publishing house, MidnightSun Publishing.

Supported by fellow technology entrepreneur Ross Williams, the duo have backed niche house MidnightSun, which wants to leverage demand for multi-platform and multi-format books.

The publishing house was established by Swedish-born Australian author Anna Solding with the aim of encouraging greater diversity in book publishing in Australia using new technology.

“We believe MidnightSun has an advantage as a niche publisher that can exploit the technology revolution that is transforming the publishing industry. This will allow us to offer our titles in whatever format the reader wants, whether that’s a traditional bound book or one of the burgeoning electronic book (e-book) formats,” Solding said.

“The publishing industry is experiencing major restructuring due to new technology, but the barriers that face new writers are greater than ever,” she added.

Hackett recently closed the $AU105 million sale of Internode to iiNet, and Williams sold his company Rocksoft in 2006 for $US63 million. Williams has provided MidnightSun with financial and technical support. MidnightSun Publishing will be officially launched February 10 at the South Australia’s Writers Centre. ®