Got the following email just a few minutes ago:
Folks,
Sorry for the group email.
I have decided to terminate my employment with Amazon. Today will be my last day. It saddens me that by doing so, I will also end my formal relationship with Stanza, and that I won’t be working with Marc and Abe. Both are truly gifted technologists, and I have been spoiled getting to work with them through 5 companies over the past decade. I have a tremendous amount of passion for Stanza and am truly sad to no longer be working on a project that has had such an amazing effect on an industry and for our nearly 4 million users worldwide. This decision did not come easily.
Thank you to all of you who helped make my time working at Lexcycle and on Stanza such a pleasure.
– Despite being outsiders to publishing, I am thankful to so many of you who opened your arms and helped educate me personally and Lexcycle as a company on the industry. I truly thank you for taking me into your inner circles and for treating me with respect.
– The reporters and bloggers who covered Stanza were very kind to us. I appreciated interacting with you and appreciated the honesty even when we did things in a “clunky” manner.
– Most of all, I give thanks to our many users who cajoled us and helped us build a better product.
Receiving feedback from our community that Stanza was resulting in people reading more than they ever had before in their lives was truly inspirational. I will miss this tremendously.
Best Regards,
Neelan
If I might dare to attempt reading between the lines, perhaps this marks the epitaph for Stanza. I can’t say with certainty why Neelan would leave, but frustration at being prevented from developing Stanza further is at least a possibility.
I do note that the date is 1 year and two weeks (almost to the day) from the acquisition…