Smashwords company history timeline

2008

Smashwords opened its virtual doors in early 2008.

Prior to the merger between Smashwords and Draft2Digital, Bill served as Chief Technology Officer for Smashwords since 2008.

Coker, a former Silicon Valley publicist, started Smashwords in 2008 with the claimed goal of using technology to democratize publishing—allowing writers to appeal directly to readers without having to deal with gatekeepers such as agents and editors.

2012

In 2012, Smashwords announced that it would partner with 3M Cloud Library, which would allow for the option for their authors' books to be available in libraries, and that it had reached about 127,000 titles by 44,000 authors.

2014

In 2014, INC. Magazine named Smashwords to its INC 500 list of America's fastest growing private companies.

2017

In October, 2017, Mark launched the Smart Author Podcast series to serve as a free masterclass for writers who want to learn to publish ebooks with greater pride, professionalism and success.

2019

In 2019, Romance Writers of America named Mark the recipient of the Vivian Stephens award for his contribution to the industry.

2022

Smashwords was acquired by Draft2Digital in March, 2022, by which time it was helping 160,000 authors and small independent presses publish and distribute 590,000 ebooks.

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Founded
2008
Company Founded
Headquarters
Los Gatos, CA
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Founders
Mark Coker
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Smashwords may also be known as or be related to Smashwords, Smashwords Inc and Smashwords, Inc.