Website History

Ani-News began as a pet project of two middle school students (Tom and Tyler) back in October 1996. The website, originally called "Aninews Animorphs" was launched with the release of the first book of the series, and was hosted by Tripod web hosting. The students learned about the series through a Scholastic Book Fair held at their school.

In 1999, the website expanded with a new look and a new name. The new site, known as "The Aninews Experience" attempted to integrate more fan-based activities, a shift from the original website which consisted solely of news and book information. During the Aninews Experiences (Ć) era, web traffic increased significantly and staff were added to maintain the website (Joel, Holly, Daniel, and Clifford).

By late 2000, the website re-launched again under a new domain and name. The new site, "Ani-News.com" (designed by new staff member Kurt) was maintained by Jess, Kurt, Asma, Kurt, Cindy, and Tyler. Traffic and activity on the site's fan message board increased again, and the web-site was given numerous exclusives by Scholastic and various Animorphs-related products.

In early 2001, Ani-News.com added its final staff member, Brandon, who helped co-run the website with one of the site's original founders, Tyler. As the site expanded, Ani-News.com became the official web-based home to the "Animorphs Weekly Newsletter (AWN)," a well-known fan-run newsletter (not affiliated with Ani-News). AWN continued to be independently run, with Ani-News.com maintaining its web-site.

In March 2002, the website was shut down by Brandon and Tyler with the release of the series' final book. In its one year formally as "Ani-News.com," the website earned more than 105,000 unique visitors. Click below to see the "Goodbye" flash video posted by the website's staff in 2002.