Educational Publisher Export Growth Strategy

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New Zealand is small country that has had a large impact on educational developments worldwide. We are famous for the quality of our teachers, the progressive nature of our education system, and the innovative approach of our publishing sector.

A proud history of exporting educational success

New Zealand-designed educational resources have been used in schools around the world for over 40 years. Our curriculum, from early childhood right up to tertiary and vocational study, is valued and often adapted by other countries. Our test results have for many years been among the highest in the OECD nations.

Dame Marie Clay’s leadership of the Reading Recovery approach led to a new export industry and revenues streams as the Reading Recovery movement spread to other English-speaking countries, notably the USA. With New Zealand publishers and educators in such demand a highly skilled publishing industry began, led by pioneers Wendy Pye and Joy Cowley.

Over 30 active educational publishers offering you content and expertise.

Today there are a large group of New Zealand publishers that offer a wide range of topics across early childhood, elementary, high school, tertiary and adult learning. The New Zealand educational publishing industry now serves more than 60 countries, across many languages, and includes much more than literacy publishing – extending to ESOL, science, mathematics, and innovative new digital resources.

Major multinational publishers regularly commission NZ content creators to design new materials that will be released worldwide under their brand name. As a result, local publishers are highly flexible and customised in their publishing approaches, and able to produce materials that are culturally attuned to the intended market.

A snap shot of NZ Educational Publishing

Innovative ideas made in New Zealand
  • A pioneer in the design of effective educational resources
  • Over 30 active educational publishers
  • 30% of revenues gained from exports
  • Major provider of literacy materials to Australia, the USA, Canada, the UK and increasingly Asian markets
  • Many years of developing educational content for major multinationals: Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Scholastic etc
  • Fast-developing digital publishing capability
  • The Big Book used for shared reading
  • The small book (8 and 16-page) used for small group reading
  • Reading Recovery – developed by Dame Marie Clay and her team
  • The Te Kohanga Reo movement developed for the preservation of New Zealand’s indigenous language and culture
  • Award-winning digital resources
  • Resources for disaster recovery

Support programme

ENZ partners with the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) to develop an export growth strategy, support access to markets and develop new markets. Examples include support for New Zealand’s Guest of Honour status at the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair and the 2015 Taipei International Book Exhibition.  Information on the programme and tools can be found here:

For more information contact Adele Bryant, Business Development Manager at adele.bryant@enz.govt.nz

What's in it for me?