Unbound gets £1.2m boost

Unbound, the crowdfunding publishing platform, has raised £1.2m in additional funding. The investment is to be used to develop "new platforms to engage the whole publishing industry, including literary agents, publishers and booksellers".

Dan Kieran, chief executive and co-founder of Unbound, said the funding would enable the business to "enter the second phase of our plans".

New investors in Unbound include DFJ Esprit and Cambridge Angels, with the company's initial seed investor Forward Investment Partners also participating in the new round of funding.

The company said the new funding would be used to pay for Unbound to add to its tech team, and to expand and improve its website. Unbound also wants to develop new platforms for to engage with other stakeholders in the industry, including publishers, literary agents and booksellers.

Unbound was launched in May 2011 by [pictured, l-r] Justin Pollard (historian, television producer and author), John Mitchinson (veteran publisher, writer and head of research for BBC’s "QI" and Dan Kieran (author of Crap Towns and The Idle Traveller). Its current platform allows authors to pitch ideas for books; supporters then pledge financial backing in return for rewards. Nearly £1m has been pledged by Unbound supporters to date; the average successful pitch raises £15,000 from 500 supporters.

The new funding will also help support Unbound's biggest project to date, Letters of Note, by Shaun Usher, which has so far raised £125,000 in advance pledges, and is published tomorrow (23rd October) in the UK.