Christopher Potter (author)
Encyclopedia
Christopher Potter is the former Publisher and Managing Director of Fourth Estate
. He has a BSC in mathematics from King's College London
and an MSc in the History and Philosophy of Science
. He has written for The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Standard. He divides his time between London and New York. You Are Here, A Portable History of the Universe is his first book.
, over 17 of those years at independent publishing house Fourth Estate
. The company was celebrated for discovering so-called "sleepers" and transforming them into bestsellers. Potter became Publisher and Managing Director. As an editor he worked closely with many writers, including Carol Shields
, Annie Proulx, Michael Cunningham
, and Michael Chabon
(all of whom won the Pulitzer prize
for novels published by 4th Estate), Dava Sobel
(whose non-fiction book Longitude was a number 1 best-seller for over a year and sold over a million copies), Hilary Mantel
, Matt Ridley
, Simon Singh
and Marcus Du Sautoy
.
(Random House
). You Are Here is published in America
by HarperCollins
.
You Are Here is "a thrilling intellectual adventure" exploring the universe through the concepts of scale and time, and through the history of scientific ideas: from the Big Bang to the evolution of life, and from the Ancient Greeks to Stephen Hawking, You Are Here received universal acclaim, with reviews across all the major national papers. 'One of the best popular science books I have ever read' wrote Stuart Jeffries in the Guardian, and 'One of the most entertaining and thoughtful pop-science books to be published for years.' said the Sunday Times.
Fourth Estate
The concept of the Fourth Estate is a societal or political force or institution whose influence is not consistently or officially recognized. The Fourth Estate now most commonly refers to the news media; especially print journalism, referred to hereon as "The Press"...
. He has a BSC in mathematics from King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
and an MSc in the History and Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
. He has written for The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Standard. He divides his time between London and New York. You Are Here, A Portable History of the Universe is his first book.
Biography
Born 1 April 1959. Christopher Potter spent almost a quarter of a century in publishingPublishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, over 17 of those years at independent publishing house Fourth Estate
Fourth Estate
The concept of the Fourth Estate is a societal or political force or institution whose influence is not consistently or officially recognized. The Fourth Estate now most commonly refers to the news media; especially print journalism, referred to hereon as "The Press"...
. The company was celebrated for discovering so-called "sleepers" and transforming them into bestsellers. Potter became Publisher and Managing Director. As an editor he worked closely with many writers, including Carol Shields
Carol Shields
Carol Ann Shields, CC, OM, FRSC, MA was an American-born Canadian author. She is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in Canada.-Biography:Shields was born in Oak Park, Illinois...
, Annie Proulx, Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham is an American writer, best known for his 1998 novel The Hours, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999.-Early life and education:...
, and Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
(all of whom won the Pulitzer prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for novels published by 4th Estate), Dava Sobel
Dava Sobel
Dava Sobel is a writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Binghamton University...
(whose non-fiction book Longitude was a number 1 best-seller for over a year and sold over a million copies), Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mary Mantel CBE , née Thompson, is an English novelist, short story writer and critic. Her work, ranging in subject from personal memoir to historical fiction, has been short-listed for major literary awards...
, Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley
Matthew White Ridley, FRSL, FMedSci is an English journalist, writer, biologist, and businessman.-Career:...
, Simon Singh
Simon Singh
Simon Lehna Singh, MBE is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner....
and Marcus Du Sautoy
Marcus du Sautoy
Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. Formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, and Wadham College, he is now a Fellow of New College...
.
Writing
Potter made his début as a writer in March 2009 when his popular science book You Are Here was published by HutchinsonHutchinson (publisher)
Hutchinson & Co. was an English book publisher, founded in 1887. The company merged with Century Publishing in 1985 to form Century Hutchinson, and was folded into the British Random House Group in 1989, where it remains as an imprint in the Cornerstone Publishing division...
(Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
). You Are Here is published in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
.
You Are Here is "a thrilling intellectual adventure" exploring the universe through the concepts of scale and time, and through the history of scientific ideas: from the Big Bang to the evolution of life, and from the Ancient Greeks to Stephen Hawking, You Are Here received universal acclaim, with reviews across all the major national papers. 'One of the best popular science books I have ever read' wrote Stuart Jeffries in the Guardian, and 'One of the most entertaining and thoughtful pop-science books to be published for years.' said the Sunday Times.