Football legend John Toshack is making a surprising stop at a small bookshop in Roath on his Welsh book signing tour
John will be visiting a select number of independent stores throughout Wales, as well as commercial bookshops and stadiums
John Toshack will be signing his new book Toshack’s Way: My Journey Through Football at The Wellfield Bookshop in Roath on 22 November.
The Wellfield Bookshop is a family-run business and has been open since 1982.
It is one of the few remaining independent bookshops in Cardiff.
Book signings are a regular occurrence for the shop and although attendance is hard to predict, it is an effective method of promotion for both the shop and the author.
Anthony Macho, retail assistant at The Wellfield Bookshop, says: “It varies widely, sometimes it will be absolutely heaving and other times very few books will sell, but it always helps get more interest for the authors and the shop.”
Megan Pollard, John’s publisher at DeCoubertin, says they encourage their authors to promote their books in smaller stores because some independent shops hold better events as they are less restricted.
She says: “We try to support local, independent bookshops because it’s important to keep high street stores viable and avoid creating a monopoly for big shopping chains.”
Anthony says The Wellfield Bookshop tries to create “a nice chilled atmosphere” for customers by offering tea and biscuits and by utilising the space they have.
Anthony says the shop’s location amid schools and good neighborhoods means there are plenty of customers coming in buying gifts for the family
Wellfield Bookshop’s 36 years of success reflects the resilience of the printed word and the support for local independent stores in Cardiff.
The Publisher’s Association released figures earlier this year revealing physical book sales had increased by 5% in 2017, and the UK publishing industry is currently worth 7.8 bn.
Anthony believes that print is still in fashion because people continually return to old formats, simply because they like it that way.
He says: “Books are such a convenient form of entertainment, you can take books anywhere and you don’t have to charge them up.
“Tablets are great but they don’t completely negate everything a book can do.”