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Figment

フィグメント

Figment

Profile

Gender
Unknown
Born
2010-12-06 （United States）
Died
2018-02-01 （Penguin Random House / United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
website, online community, self-publishing platform
Active Years
2010-2018
Affiliations
Random House Children's Group (acquired)

Awards

O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference - Winning startup
2011
Organization: O'Reilly
Result: Winner
Webby Awards - Official Honoree (Youth)
2011
Category: Youth
Organization: Webby Awards
Result: Honoree
Los Angeles Times Innovator's Award (part of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize)
2011
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dream School

2011 Young adult fiction

In 2011 Figment serialized Blake Nelson's novel 'Dream School' on its website and subsequently published it in print. The book was first released in serial format on the site and later as a traditional print edition.

coming-of-ageadolescence

Bibliography

  • Dream School (serialized → published), 2011

Style & Themes

Literary Style
format favoring short works and serialized publication aimed at young writersuser-driven interaction (reviews, hearts, comments)
Recurring Motifs
community prioritizing youth voices and coming-of-age storiescontests and prompts as creative drivers

Legacy

Figment provided a model for youth-oriented online writing communities and self-publishing, helping many emerging writers through contests and serialized publication. Acquired by Random House Children's Group in 2013, the site was effectively closed and redirected to Underlined in 2018, with many user stories removed. Figment built a large user base in a short time and left a legacy as an experimental space for digital-era publishing and exposure.

Archives

  • Figment snapshots in the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine)

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, and The Today Show

Quotes

  • "We approached Figment because we've admired what they are doing in the digital space. Together we can broaden our marketing reach for our authors and their stories."
    Source: Susan Katz (HarperCollins Children's Book president), comment, 2012 (2012)
  • "I took a stack of fan letters that were sent to the magazine over to my editor's office and said this is the audience for this book."
    Source: Blake Nelson, comment, 2011 (2011)

Trivia

  • In February–March 2012 Figment merged userbases with HarperCollins' Inkpop.
  • Acquired by Random House Children's Group in October 2013.
  • On February 1, 2018 the site began redirecting to Penguin Random House's Underlined and many user stories were deleted.