Our day with Tony Park!

Yesterday at 3:30 we had Tony Park in for a signing. The first thing we noticed was that he was very tall. The second was that he was super nice. Tony and his publicist Jace, came early while I was just finishing setting up the signing table. 

A few of Tony's fans came to see him and get their books signed and to get pictures :D

Tony and I had a good chat about Africa, his travels, animals, cultural differences and it was extremely fasinating. We could of done with a few more people showing up but we broke Tony's instore signing record (so he said, I doubt that though hahaha) He said that when you are in South Africa, you could be in Australia. They have Gum Tree plantations and the climate is similar. One of the main differences is the fact they have lions, rhinos, and other wild beasties we don't.

A very good talker and South Africa is such an interesting topic that is close to Tony's heart. One question I asked him was, "Do you draw inspritation from Africa?" and Tony said that he would never run out of inspiriation with Africa as a subject. Ideas abound from that land and he will never be at a loss for stories. 

We really enjoyed our time with Tony and Jace, whom I had a great talk to about different things. Both were lovely men and we hope to have Tony in the store again.

We have instore signed copies of Tony's books for anyone who couldn't make it to the signing. If you want to know more about Tony, then you can head over to his website or to the Pan Macmillan site here

Castle Bookshop Press Release

Angus and Robertson Edwardstown has become an independent bookstore.

On April 5, 2011 at 10.00 am today a new bookstore brand opened at Castle Plaza – Castle Books. This store was previously known as Angus and Robertson but due to uncertain conditions at A&R head office the owners Jo Patritti and Sonia Patritti have made the choice to be independent of the franchise. The Franchisees have exercised their right to terminate as a result of Angus & Robertson’s continued breach of the franchise agreement. This includes Angus & Robertson’s failure to provide the services and benefits it is obliged to provide pursuant to the franchise agreement. 

Long serving franchisees and those who have recently joined the company are saddened by the demise of the iconic Angus & Robertson brand. 

‘We are saddened by everything that has happened as we loved A&R – but things had to change. We couldn’t cope with the way things were going. We are in this industry because we love books and our customers and we want to be able to provide the best service we can. That wasn’t happening.’

Castle Books is at the same location with the same phone number. Same Staff, Same Great Service, New Name - Great Books