Realm

Realm, formerly known as Serial Box, was co-founded in September 2015 by Molly Barton, a former Penguin Random House executive, and Julian Yap, a former lawyer for the Obama Administration's Department of Justice. The idea for the company came from Yap's realization that his busy work schedule was preventing him from reading novels. This led to the concept of serialized fiction, which Barton and Yap believed would make reading more accessible and social.

The company started with a model based on television series production, where a lead author or "showrunner" would create a pilot episode and a "show bible" outlining the plot for a season. A team of writers would then be brought in to write individual episodes. The first production under this model was "Bookburners," created by Max Gladstone.

In April 2021, Serial Box rebranded as Realm and shifted its strategy to a global podcast network. Today, Realm is an audio entertainment company that produces original and licensed fiction podcasts and audiobook series. The company partners with major brands such as Marvel, DC, and Netflix to create official continuations of popular franchises. Realm's business model includes a subscription-based platform for accessing its content. The company has raised $18.7 million in funding over four rounds from ten investors.

Keywords: audio entertainment, podcasts, audiobook series, serialized fiction, audio production, podcast network, audio storytelling, fiction podcasts, audiobooks, narrative podcasts