Brought to book: The story of Nelson’s publishers of quality

As with many business ideas, it started with frustration at the existing
options. Thirty five years on, Nelson-based book publisher Potton & Burton has left its mark on the book publishing industry and they’re not done yet.

Words: Alistair Hughes

Nelson has been home to Potton & Burton, one of the country’s most well-known and successful independent book publishers, for thirty-five years. The fact that they are not based in a distant, major business centre, as might be expected, can be traced back to a life-long friendship which began at Canterbury University in the mid-1970s. And a certain volcanic crater.

Adventurous Nelsonian students Craig Potton and Robbie Burton first formed a friendship, very appropriately for their future career together, in the mountains. A novice climber, Robbie’s first mountaineering experience with Craig in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park was to prove as formative as meeting his future business partner.

“…that first experience in the high Alps was as exhilarating as anything I’d ever done,” writes Robbie in his memoir Bushline, released last year. “Craig was always wonderful company in the hills… unfailingly funny and cheerful in the face of whatever was thrown at us, with a wide range of intellectual and political interests.”

These shared interests saw them both develop a passion for the burgeoning conservation movement. After university they both worked full-time for the Native Forest Action Council (NFAC), a groundbreaking organisation working out of ‘Crewenna,' a rambling old house on the northern outskirts of Nelson. According to Robbie, Craig’s confidence and commitment made him a ’born activist,' while Robbie’s administrative duties allowed him to develop organisational and written communication skills which would serve him well in the future. As NFAC scored some major victories against native forest logging on the West Coast, and the shifting of attitudes toward protecting our environment began to grow into a landslide, Robbie oversaw production of a guidebook on what is now Paparoa National Park, as part of the campaign to save it. The result might not have been worthy of Potton & Burton’s prestigious catalogue, but in many ways Robbie’s course was set.

“From a young age, I was a voracious reader”, he explains. “A passion for words and books was always there, it's never gone, and it hasn’t dimmed.”

While Robbie further developed his organisational prowess within a creative environment as a community arts worker in Nelson, Craig was honing his own talents as a landscape photographer, picking up contracts to write and photograph handbooks on New Zealand’s national parks for the then Department of Lands and Survey. His and Robbie’s worlds were to collide again in 1990, when Craig asked his old friend to lunch. And Robbie explains this is where the aforementioned crater comes in.

“Craig had a terrible experience with an Australian publisher when he was commissioned to photograph and write a book about Tongariro National Park. After he’d spent two years working on it, they pulled out of the deal and ceased publishing New Zealand books, and he ended up rescuing and investing in the project himself”.

Unfortunately, when the proof came back from the presses Craig’s all important cover image, an aerial shot of Ngauruhoe’s volcanic crater, had been printed upside down. Chicxulub crater in Mexico is held to be the impact site of a massive asteroid which fell 66 million years ago, and led to the total extinction of the dinosaurs. But the devastating impact of the misprinted Ngauruhoe crater was to have the opposite effect – it led to the creation of a new publishing house.

“At that point, in a great display of entrepreneurial daring, Craig decided to take charge of the quality and do it all himself, even though he hadn’t done any publishing," continues Robbie. “He was very clear from early on, however, that his interest was photography and remaining active in conservation, and he didn’t want to do the desk-bound management of the publishing house. He liked to work with friends and so thought I would be a good fit for that.”

Robbie assumed the role of publisher and managing director at what was then called Craig Potton Publishing, but with admittedly very little idea how to begin.

“I started in the great kiwi tradition of DIY, knowing almost nothing about the business, and it was a long and slow process which I don’t really recommend. But that was my only choice, as there was nowhere you could go to train back then, so I just learnt on the go.”

With nothing to base his approach on, Robbie assumed this would be a hands-on role and quickly got to grips with the entire gamut of book production, from editing to design, print production and colour correction. Potton & Burton’s reputation for the highest quality publications owes a great deal to Robbie’s meticulous over-seeing of every aspect of a book’s development and realisation.

Entering a necessary world of commerce initially challenged the counter-culture values of the bearded conservationists who had campaigned so successfully against rapacious big business.

“I really struggled with a life where the profit margin seemed to be the most important thing, and it took me a long time to come to terms with it, but I absolutely have,” explains Robbie. “There are all kinds of ways to run an ethical business and I’ve tried hard to do that.”

The new company enjoyed early success in winning the Supreme Award in the Nelson Tasman Business Awards, which was a great confidence boost. They went on to dominate the market for photography books aimed at the tourist market, which Robbie describes as the engine room of the early development of the company, while they also developed a wider ethos for their other publishing.

“There are a few defining factors," he says. “We publish non-fiction with a genuine commitment to contribute to the culture of this country, and I’m not particularly interested in anything which is not New Zealand-focused. The other major aspect which comes from Craig’s earliest vision is a real dedication to quality, the standard of the whole book is very important.”

Robbie also names commitment to collaboration as another component setting Potton & Burton apart.

“Authors get to have much more of a say in what we do than with many other publishing houses. And of course, if you look after people’s work and try to do the best for them you can build fantastic relationships.”

One of his own most rewarding working relationships has been with investigative writer Nicky Hager, which led to Potton & Burton’s publication of controversial, bestselling exposés The Hollow Men, Dirty Politics and Hit & Run. These hard-hitting works make an interesting contrast to the publishing house’s other releases but embody their dedication to contemporary New Zealand issues.

Over the past three decades many of their other titles have found their way onto bookshelves across the country. These include Tamatea Dusky: The remarkable story of Fiordland’s Dusky Sound, Edmund Hillary: A Biography, Shelter from the Storm: The Story of New Zealand’s Backcountry Huts, and an influential book which Robbie ruefully reflects on almost turning down: Ghosts of Gondwana: The History of Life in New Zealand. A Montana book awards winner and never out of print, Robbie cites his eventual decision to publish it as turning point in his own professional confidence.

“In terms of commercial viability, the first thing you have to be is a blind optimist, and willing to take a risk. Being a good publisher requires ‘seat of the pants’ judgements, an instinct of whether something is going to fly or not. Some books I was sure would do well have bombed but then there are successes that I was equally surprised by.”

One instinct which served Robbie well led to his difficult decision to downsize Potton & Burton in 2019. Having grown to a staff of 18 in a Port Nelson warehouse with their own distribution operation, Robbie came to the belief that the diminishing book market could no longer sustain their business at that scale.

“When we were a larger operation, being able to provide jobs for people was incredibly rewarding. But going into liquidation would have made us no use to anyone, so remaining a viable business was how we could best be of service.”

Choosing to be proactive literally saved Potton & Burton, as his calculations have since confirmed that the following year’s pandemic would have wiped them out. Consequently, Potton & Burton are very much still around, remaining a highly regarded conduit for the best of New Zealand creative talent. Robbie credits Nelson for providing some of the uniqueness which has made them a survivor.

“The reasons we’re based here are personal, rather than business, because the quality of life we have is a huge bonus. We’ve tried to create a good place to work and have had fantastic loyalty over the past thirty years, from great local staff.”

The other advantage of being provincially based has become one of Potton & Burton’s greatest strengths.

“Being a little more isolated we’ve all had to adapt, do everything ourselves and learn how to publish to a high quality, often on the smell of an oily rag. I feel very lucky to be able to carry on doing this in such a wonderful place.”