Thursday, March 05, 2015

Name change for major NZ independent publisher

We’re changing our name:
Craig Potton Publishing becomes Potton & Burton



On 6 March 2015 Craig Potton Publishing is changing its name to Potton & Burton, a move designed to reflect the increasingly diverse range of New Zealand books we publish.

Publisher and co-owner Robbie Burton commented,

‘The Craig Potton Publishing imprint has served us brilliantly for over 25 years, but in recent years it has become apparent that our name is associated with a narrow range of books, in particular photographic, environmental and outdoor books. The reality however, is that our publishing programme covers far more – everything from natural history, contemporary issues, art and culture, biography, history and children’s books. The new name, Potton & Burton, gives us a chance to communicate to the book industry and the wider public that we are totally committed to publishing the widest range of high-quality New Zealand non-fiction, and to not be limited by previous perceptions.’

Founded by photographer Craig Potton in 1989, Craig Potton Publishing has grown to become New Zealand’s largest independent publisher, and were voted Publisher of the Year in 2014 for New Zealand publishing. Based in Nelson, Potton & Burton employ 17 people and are involved in both publishing and distribution.

www.pottonandburton.co.nz will go live on Monday 9 March 2015.

About Robbie Burton
Robbie Burton (left) is the co-owner, and Executive Director and Publisher of Potton & Burton (formerly Craig Potton Publishing). He joined Craig Potton Publishing as Managing Editor in 1990 and was its first full-time employee. Since then he has led the development of the company into the fully-formed publishing company that it is today. In recent years he has stepped back from day-to-day management to focus more on acquisition and publishing and maintains a very hands-on involvement in all aspects of the process. In particular he has specialised in the publishing of illustrated books, and apart from the usual commissioning and editorial role, has considerable experience in photo editing, book design, colour management and print production.

Robbie is married to Susannah Roddick and has two children, Will and Ed.

About Emma Radcliffe
Emma Radcliffe is the Managing Director of Potton & Burton (formerly Craig Potton Publishing). Coming from a varied and diverse background in sales and marketing overseas, Emma has been with the company since 2008. Originally employed as the Sales & Marketing Director, she was promoted to Managing Director in 2012. Emma is responsible for the day-to-day operations, the on-going relationship management for distribution partners and works in conjunction with the company’s owners, Craig Potton & Robbie Burton, to develop strategic planning which shapes the future of the Potton & Burton.

Emma is married to Ian and has three children, Joshua, James and Sophia.

A brief history of Potton & Burton
Potton & Burton (formerly Craig Potton Publishing) is New Zealand’s largest independent publishing house. Craig Potton Publishing was started in 1987 by photographer and conservationist Craig Potton, whose original motivation was to create a vehicle to publish high-quality photographic books. In 1990 Robbie Burton, who now co-owns the company with Craig Potton, joined Craig Potton Publishing as Managing Director and Publisher. In the past 25 years the company has grown to the point where it now publishes more than 20 new titles per year, maintains a strong backlist of New Zealand books, and also publishes around 20 calendars annually. The company remains (and will remain) based in Nelson.

Potton & Burton has a diverse list of New Zealand-focussed non-fiction publishing, all produced within a strong ethos of quality and care. The original focus on photographic and outdoor books has broadened over the last decade to include books in all areas of non-fiction.


These have included such titles as the landmark New Zealand’s Native Trees, a NZ Post Book of the Year, and other seminal natural history books such as Moa: The Life in Death of New Zealand’s Legendary Bird. In the area of art and culture some noteworthy books have included Grahame Sydney Paintings 1974-2014 and the acclaimed book about New Zealand tourism posters Selling the Dream. Historical themes have been well covered through such titles as the bestselling Molesworth, and the recent hit Tramping: A New Zealand History. An important offshoot of their publishing has always been an interest in contemporary issues, with perhaps most prominent being the work of investigative writer Nicky Hager, including 2014’s most controversial book Dirty Politics. 

Over recent years Potton & Burton have also developed a strong focus on good quality children books and each year publish several picture flats including the hugely successful Explore & Discover series.

From the beginning the company has controlled its own sales and distribution, and that remains a key component of the company’s success. This has also enabled Potton & Burton to provide distribution services to other publishers, currently including Lonely Planet, Hema products and Auckland University Press.

Potton & Burton is proudly independent, and actively values the freedom to publish books that inspire and that matter to the publishing team, and to maintain a committed and hands-on involvement in every book that is published.



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