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Lulu.com

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Lulu Press, Inc.
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryPublishing
GenreSelf-publishing
Founded2002; 22 years ago (2002)
FounderBob Young
Headquarters,
United States
Key people
Kathy Hensgen (CEO)
ProductsBooks, e-books, photo-books, calendars
ServicesPrint on demand and e-book publishing
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles.[1]

The company's founder is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young; he also was CEO for many years.[2] As of 2022, the company’s 20th anniversary, Young had handed CEO duties to Kathy Hensgen.[3] The company's headquarters are in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Previous logo

Products

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In 2009, Lulu began publishing and distributing ebooks. Lulu also prints and publishes calendars and photo books. In 2017, Lulu introduced an Open Access print-on-demand service.[4]

Process

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The author of a title receives an 80% royalty for print books and a 90% royalty for eBooks when sold.[5]

Replay Photos

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In January 2014, Lulu announced that it had acquired Durham (NC)-based sports photography company Replay Photos.[6] Replay Photos sells licensed images of collegiate and professional sports teams as photographic prints, custom framed photos, photos on canvas, and original wall art.[7]

Digital Rights Management (DRM)

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Lulu's final phase for their Digital Rights Management (DRM) Retirement project was released July 2, 2013. Prior to January 15, 2013, a Lulu author could choose to apply Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection to their PDF or EPUB.[citation needed]

Lulu Jr.

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In 2014, Lulu launched Lulu Jr., which enables children to become published authors.[8] Lulu Jr. products include My Comic Book and IlluStory.[9]

Lulu Blooker Prize

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The Lulu Blooker Prize was a literary award for "blooks" (books based on blogs).[10] It was awarded in 2006 and 2007 and sponsored by Lulu. An overall prize was awarded, based on the winners of three subsidiary categories: non-fiction, fiction, and comics. The Lulu Blooker Prize was open to any "blook" that had been published "to date" (i.e., by the entry deadline) by any publisher.[10]

2006

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The first competition saw 89 entries from over a dozen countries. A panel of three judges decided the winners: Cory Doctorow, Chair of Judges; Paul Jones; and Robin "Roblimo" Miller.[11]

Winners

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Runners-up

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  • Biodiesel Power by Lyle Estill (runner up, non-fiction, see biodiesel)
  • Hackoff.com: An Historic Murder Mystery Set in the Internet Bubble and Rubble by Tom Evslin (runner up, fiction)
  • Dinosaur Comics: Huge Eyes, Beaks, Intelligence, and Ambition by Ryan North (runner up, comics)

2007

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The 2007 competition had 110 entries from 15 countries. The number of judges was increased to five: Paul Jones (chair), Arianna Huffington, Julie Powell (2006 overall winner), Rohit Gupta, and Nick Cohen.[12]

Winners

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Runners-up

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lulu Enters Exclusive Licensing and Distribution Agreement With Easy Student Publishing for Kids' Creativity and Book-Making Products" (Press release).
  2. ^ "Red Hat's co-founder was unemployed and working in a closet when he started the company IBM just bought for $34 billion". CNBC. November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Allam, Chantal (April 8, 2022). "As Lulu.com celebrates 20 years, founder Bob Young reflects on its staying power". WRAL TechWire. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Carpenter, Caroline (February 3, 2017). "Lulu launches academic alternative". thebookseller.com.
  5. ^ Tilton, Kate (January 25, 2013). "Royalty Rates Comparison". BiblioCrunch. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  6. ^ "Lulu acquires Durham-based Replay Photos". newsobserver. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  7. ^ "Replay Photos: Help / FAQs". ReplayPhotos.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  8. ^ "Lulu Launch Lulu Junior Website and Introduce Children's Book-Making Kits". Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  9. ^ "Lulu Jr". Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Moyer, Edward (October 13, 2005). "'Blooker Prize' rewards books based on blogs". cnet.com.
  11. ^ Gibson, Owen (April 3, 2006). "From blog to book: first awards for online writers who became mainstream successes". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  12. ^ "War book wins Blooker blog prize". BBC News. May 14, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
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