America Star Books
America Star Books, formerly PublishAmerica, was a Maryland-based print-on-demand publisher that stopped accepting new authors after becoming ASB Promotions.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
America Star Books was the later name of PublishAmerica, a Maryland-based print-on-demand book publisher founded in 1999 by Lawrence Alvin "Larry" Clopper III and Willem Meiners. The business presented itself as an alternative to conventional trade publishing and offered publication to authors whose manuscripts might not have secured contracts with established commercial houses. Its operating model centered on short print runs and print-on-demand production, allowing books to be manufactured in response to orders rather than through large initial inventories. During its PublishAmerica period, the company expanded rapidly in author numbers and title output. In 2004 it reported publishing more than 4,800 titles in small runs, while company representatives described a substantial editorial staff and an estimated 80 percent manuscript rejection rate. By 2005, the company said it had approximately 11,000 authors under contract and around 70 full-time employees. Willem Meiners was identified publicly as chief executive officer in 2005, while Clopper was identified as company president. Miranda N. Prather served as executive director during the mid-2000s and later left the renamed company in 2016. PublishAmerica occupied a controversial position between self-publishing, vanity publishing, and conventional publishing. Critics, including some authors and writers' advocates, argued that the company operated like a vanity press while marketing itself as a traditional publisher. Complaints included limited editing, weak bookstore distribution, high list prices, unfavorable author purchase discounts, limited marketing and media support, and disputes over royalties or rights. The company and some of its authors rejected the vanity-press characterization, emphasizing that it gave unpublished writers an opportunity to obtain publication without the conventional agent-and-acquisition process. Company representatives also argued that pricing reflected market conditions and that the publisher could not control bookstore ordering decisions. The company attracted additional scrutiny after accepting deliberately poor or fraudulent manuscripts submitted as tests of its editorial controls. In 2004 it agreed to publish Atlanta Nights, a deliberately incoherent hoax novel created by science-fiction authors and later publicly exposed as a test. Another reported test involved a manuscript containing the same thirty pages repeated ten times. These episodes became prominent examples in criticism of the publisher's screening and editorial practices. In 2005, PublishAmerica announced that its books would generally be returnable by United States booksellers if they did not sell, although it initially acknowledged exceptions. The change was presented as an effort to adopt a standard commercial-publishing practice; later company material stated that many, rather than necessarily all, titles were returnable. The company also faced a trademark dispute with Encyclopaedia Britannica over the name PublishBritannica, an imprint that had previously operated under the PublishAmerica umbrella. The dispute was settled, and the imprint was renamed PublishAtlantica. PublishAmerica also used the PublishIcelandica imprint; company correspondence indicated that these imprints were no longer active by 2006. A significant contractual dispute arose when author Philip Dolan was unable to obtain bookstore orders for his book despite spending heavily on promotion. He pursued arbitration, alleging breach of contract and accounting problems, including difficulty obtaining access to company records and discrepancies in reported royalties. The arbitrator awarded compensation in an unspecified amount and rescinded his contract. In 2012, Darla Yoos, Edwin McCall, and Kerry Levine filed a class-action lawsuit against PublishAmerica LLLP in federal court in Maryland. PublishAmerica changed its name to America Star Books in January 2014. Miranda Prather left in 2016. In 2017, the organization adopted the name ASB Promotions and stopped accepting new authors, marking the end of its active publishing-acquisition phase. Because later public information about operations, ownership, and formal dissolution is limited, the brand is best treated as defunct or inactive rather than as a continuing publishing house.
History
America Star Books began in 1999 as PublishAmerica, founded in Maryland by Lawrence Alvin "Larry" Clopper III and Willem Meiners. Its business model used short print runs and print-on-demand production to publish books by authors who had not necessarily obtained representation from literary agents or contracts with established trade houses. This approach enabled the company to accept a large number of titles without relying on the large inventories associated with conventional publishing. The company grew substantially in the early and mid-2000s. In 2004, it reported publishing more than 4,800 titles in small runs. Miranda N. Prather, then executive director, stated that the company rejected approximately 80 percent of submitted manuscripts and described an editorial staff of about 30 full-time editors, with expansion planned. By 2005, PublishAmerica reported approximately 11,000 authors under contract and about 70 full-time employees. In June of that year, Willem Meiners was publicly identified as chief executive officer and Clopper as company president. PublishAmerica's status was contested throughout this period. The company portrayed itself as a publisher offering access to writers who might otherwise remain unpublished. Critics and author advocates argued that it more closely resembled a vanity press because of alleged author fees, limited editing, high book prices, weak retail distribution, and inadequate marketing and media-relations services. Authors also reported disputes concerning royalties, rights, bookstore availability, and the cost of purchasing their own books. Some authors defended the company and regarded its willingness to publish previously unpublished writers as its principal benefit. The publisher's editorial process became a subject of public criticism after it accepted manuscripts designed as hoaxes. In December 2004, it agreed to publish Atlanta Nights, a deliberately incoherent novel constructed by writers as a test of the publisher's editorial controls. The manuscript included intentionally poor writing devices and a computer-generated chapter. A separate test manuscript reportedly contained the same thirty pages repeated ten times. These incidents were used by critics to argue that the company's editorial screening was less rigorous than its public presentation suggested. PublishAmerica also expanded through imprints. PublishBritannica was renamed PublishAtlantica after Encyclopaedia Britannica sued over alleged trademark infringement in August 2005. The matter was settled outside court, with PublishAmerica agreeing not to continue using the PublishBritannica name. PublishIcelandica was another imprint. A 2006 company letter indicated that neither PublishAtlantica nor PublishIcelandica was then active. In late September 2005, PublishAmerica announced that books would be returnable by United States booksellers if they failed to sell. Returnability was a normal feature of much conventional book distribution, so the announcement was presented as a change toward commercial-publishing practice. The company initially acknowledged that a small number of exceptions would apply, and later described many of its books as returnable rather than making an unqualified claim for every title. The company's contractual and commercial practices produced disputes. In 2005, author Philip Dolan reported that bookstores could not order his book despite his promotional spending. He initiated arbitration alleging breach of contract and raised concerns about accounting access and royalty reporting. The arbitrator granted compensation in an unspecified amount and rescinded the contract. In June 2012, Darla Yoos, Edwin McCall, and Kerry Levine filed a class-action lawsuit against PublishAmerica LLLP in the United States District Court for Maryland. PublishAmerica changed its name to America Star Books in January 2014. Prather left the renamed organization in 2016. In 2017, America Star Books became ASB Promotions and stopped accepting new authors. Available reference material does not establish a later active publishing operation, definitive ownership, or a formal legal dissolution, so the brand is classified here as defunct or inactive.
- 2017
Transition to ASB Promotions
[1]The organization adopts the ASB Promotions name and stops accepting new authors.
- 2014
Rebrand to America Star Books
[1]PublishAmerica changes its name to America Star Books.
- 2012
Class-action complaint filed
[1]Three plaintiffs file a class-action lawsuit against PublishAmerica LLLP in federal court in Maryland.
- 2005
Leadership identified publicly
[1]Willem Meiners is identified as chief executive officer and Larry Clopper as company president.
- 2005
PublishBritannica trademark dispute
[1]A trademark case brought by Encyclopaedia Britannica leads to the discontinuation of the PublishBritannica name.
- 2005
Book returnability announced
[1]The company announces a policy allowing United States booksellers to return unsold books, subject to initial exceptions.
- 2004
Early large-scale title and author expansion
[1]The company reports more than 4,800 titles published in small runs and describes a substantial editorial operation.
- 2004
Atlanta Nights manuscript accepted
[1]PublishAmerica accepts a deliberately bad hoax manuscript later used as evidence in criticism of its editorial screening.
- 1999
PublishAmerica is founded
[1]Lawrence Alvin Clopper III and Willem Meiners establish PublishAmerica in Maryland as a print-on-demand and short-run book publisher.
Products and positioning
An alternative publishing outlet for unpublished authors, positioned between conventional trade publishing and author-funded or vanity publishing, with production based largely on small runs and print-on-demand fulfillment.
Book publishing · 1999
Print-on-demand books
The company's central offering was publication of books through short-run and print-on-demand production. This approach reduced the need for large initial print inventories and allowed titles to be produced as orders arrived. The catalog included fiction and other trade-book formats submitted by individual authors.
Publishing imprint
PublishAtlantica
PublishAtlantica was an imprint associated with PublishAmerica and headquartered in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. It operated under the earlier name PublishBritannica until a trademark dispute with Encyclopaedia Britannica led to the change. Company correspondence in 2006 indicated that the imprint was no longer active.
Publishing imprint
PublishIcelandica
PublishIcelandica was another PublishAmerica imprint. Available company correspondence from 2006 indicated that it, like PublishAtlantica, was not active at that time.
Controversies
2012
Class-action litigation
Darla Yoos, Edwin McCall, and Kerry Levine filed a class-action lawsuit against PublishAmerica LLLP in Maryland federal court. The available reference does not establish the final disposition.
2005
Trademark dispute over PublishBritannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica sued over the PublishBritannica imprint name. The matter was settled outside court, and PublishAmerica agreed to stop using the name.
2005
Philip Dolan arbitration
Author Philip Dolan alleged that PublishAmerica breached his contract and mishandled accounting and royalty matters. Arbitration resulted in unspecified compensation and rescission of the contract.
2004
Acceptance of Atlanta Nights hoax manuscript
Authors created Atlanta Nights as an intentionally terrible manuscript to test PublishAmerica's editorial oversight. The company's acceptance of the work became a widely cited criticism of its screening standards.
Brand decisions
2017
Stop accepting new authorsStrategyBackground
The renamed organization moved away from its former author-acquisition and publishing activity.
Action taken
America Star Books became ASB Promotions and ceased accepting new authors.
Aftermath
This ended the brand's active role as a publisher for newly submitted authors.
2014
Rebrand as America Star BooksStrategyBackground
PublishAmerica operated under a name associated with continuing criticism of its publishing model and author services.
Action taken
The company changed its name to America Star Books.
Aftermath
The America Star Books identity was later replaced by ASB Promotions, which stopped accepting new authors in 2017.
2005
Introduce bookstore returnabilityStrategyBackground
PublishAmerica sought to make its books more compatible with ordinary bookseller purchasing practices.
Action taken
The company announced that United States booksellers could return unsold books, while noting that some exceptions would initially apply.
Aftermath
The policy was later described in company material as applying to many books, and the announcement became part of the discussion about whether the company operated like a conventional publisher.
2005
Rename PublishBritannica as PublishAtlanticaOtherBackground
Encyclopaedia Britannica challenged the use of the PublishBritannica name in a trademark lawsuit.
Action taken
PublishAmerica settled the dispute and discontinued the PublishBritannica name, using PublishAtlantica instead.
Aftermath
A 2006 company letter indicated that PublishAtlantica was no longer active.
Sources1 sources
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