BOOK VIEW CAFE came together in March of 2008 around a group of authors with a simple aim: to use the Internet to bring their work directly to their readers. It was already clear that a revolution was coming to the publishing industry and these authors wanted to help shape its course.

Working with a shoe-string budget and volunteer labor, but drawing on a collective century’s worth of experience in the publishing industry, they created the Book View Cafe Website. Rather than just another clearing house for books online, they created a space where readers could browse and discover new authors and titles alongside current favorites. Aware that the Internet demands variety, the authors made sure that fresh fiction appeared on their front page every day, a feat made possible by the extensive list of material available to over twenty professional authors.

The Book View Cafe site officially launched in November of 2008. Since then the site has experienced a steady growth in readers and in author-members.  The Cafe now receives over 700,000 hits every month. The author blog has also seen increasing popularity since its launch, drawing a further seven to eight thousand hits per month.

Not content to make their previously published work available, in 2009 the Cafe authors opened Book View Press to publish original work. Their first title, Rocket Boy and the Geek Girls, is an original anthology of new work and classic reprints. In December, 2009, Book View Press will release its first all-original anthology, a steampunk collection titled The Shadow Conspiracy. Further scheduled projects include a fantasy anthology, a second steampunk collection, and a pair of writer’s manuals.