Tony Park (born 1964) is an international author of thriller and non-fiction books.[1][2] Park has worked as a newspaper reporter, public relations consultant, freelance writer, and as a government press secretary, in addition to writing numerous novels and non-fiction books.[1][3] He also served in the Australian Army Reserve for 34 years, including a 6-month tour in Afghanistan in 2002 as a public affairs officer.[1][3][4]
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Life and career
editPark was born in 1964 in Taupō, New Zealand, he moved to Sydney, Australia[1] at the age of three and grew up in Campbelltown[5] in South Western Sydney. Park attended Campbelltown Public School and Campbelltown East Public School. Park also attended St Gregory's College, Campbelltown, and was awarded dux in 1981.[6] Park also did a journalism cadetship at The Glebe and Western Weekly newspaper in Glebe from 1984 to 1987. He worked as a journalist at the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader in 1987–88. He worked as a press secretary for NSW Premier Nick Greiner from 1988 to 1991. He worked as press secretary for the NSW Minister for Justice and Police from 1991 to 1993. Park also worked as a journalist for the Bucks Herald and Bucks Advertiser newspapers in Buckinghamshire, UK, from 1993 to 1994. Park was a PR consultant for International Public Relations, Crows Nest, Sydney, from 1994 to 1996.
Park quit his job in 1996 and gave up his career as a journalist to follow his dream of being a full-time writer. His first novel, set in the outback during WWII, failed to get published.[7] Had a second attempt at writing a novel while travelling in Africa in 1998, and this one was accepted by Pan Macmillan Australia, and published in 2004 as Far Horizon.[8] He and his wife spend half of every year living in a private nature reserve near the Kruger National Park in South Africa.[9][10] Park is an avid supporter of several charities concerned with wildlife and people in Africa, he is a patron of Painted Dog Conservation Inc., a charity that is dedicated to protecting the painted dog in Africa.[1]
Military service
editTony Park served in the Australian Army Reserves in a variety of roles.[11]
1982–1984 served as a rifleman, Sydney University Regiment, Royal Australian Infantry
1984–1996 – served as an Air Dispatcher and Air Dispatch Crew Commander corporal with 177 Air Dispatch Squadron, Royal Australian Corps of Transport
1996 – 2016 – served as a captain in the Australian Army Public Relations Service, including brief deployments to Papua New Guinea and Easter Timor. In 2002 served as the Public Affairs Officer for the Australian Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan from July–December 2002.
Novels
editTony Park is the author of 19 novels set in Africa and six non fiction biographies. Park combines his background as a major in the Australia Army Reserve and his love of Africa to write his novels.[10]
Fiction
edit- Far Horizon, Pan Macmillan 2004
- Zambezi, Pan Macmillan 2005
- African Sky, Pan Macmillan 2006
- Safari, Pan Macmillan 2007
- Silent Predator, Pan Macmillan 2008
- Ivory Pan Macmillan 2009
- The Delta, Pan Macmillan 2010
- African Dawn, Pan Macmillan 2011
- Dark Heart, Pan Macmillan 2012
- The Prey, Pan Macmillan 2013
- The Hunter, Pan Macmillan] 2014
- An Empty Coast, Pan Macmillan 2015
- Red Earth, Pan Macmillan 2016
- The Cull, Pan Macmillan 2017
- Captive, Pan Macmillan 2018
- Scent of Fear, Pan Macmillan, 2018
- Ghosts of the Past, Pan Macmillan, 2019
- Last Survivor, Pan Macmillan, 2020
- Blood Trail, Pan Macmillan, 2021
Non fiction
edit- Part of the Pride: My Life Among the Big Cats of Africa, with Kevin Richardson, 2009
- War Dogs, with Shane Bryant, 2010 (re-released 2010)
- The Grey Man, with John Curtis, 2011
- Bush Vet, with Dr Clay Wilson, 2013
- Courage Under Fire, with Daniel Keighran, VC, 2020
- No One Left Behind, with Keith Payne, VC, 2021
Linked Books
edit- The ‘Sonja Kurtz Series’ – Tough former female mercenary Sonja Kurtz has proved to be one of Park's most popular characters with his audiences. The ‘Sonja’ books in order are as follows: The Delta, An Empty Coast, The Cull
- Zimbabwean saga, – 'African Sky’ and ‘African Dawn’, ‘African Sky’ takes place in 1943, during the Second World War, and ‘African Dawn’ picks up the story of the Bryant, Ngwenya and Quilter-Phipps families from 1959 to the present.
- Detective Sannie van Rensburg - A recurring character in some of Parks books is the intrepid, brave and clever Captain Sannie (Susan) van Rensburg. Sannie first appears in ‘Silent Predator’ as the leading lady, and reappears later as an investigating officer (in minor roles) in some other books. The order in which she appears: 'Silent Predator', 'Dark Heart', 'The Hunter', 'Red Earth', 'The Cull', Captive'
- Jed Banks - Jed Banks is a US special forces soldier and CIA agent. Jed debuts as the leading man in Zambezi, but he's been known to emerge from the shadows in a few other stories. Here's the order in which Jed comes appears; 'Zambezi', 'Red Earth', 'Scent of Fear'
- Shane Castle - First appearing in a starring role in ‘Safari’, Shane is a Zimbabwean-born ex Australian SAS soldier, who returns to his African homeland to join the war on poaching. Shane appears a second time in ‘Red Earth’ as a hired gun.
Influences
editPark has said that his favourite author of fiction set in Africa is John Gordon Davis, whose first novel, Hold My Hand I'm Dying, set in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was an international bestseller.[12][13][14] Park also wrote the foreword to ‘Hold My Hand’, a biography of Gordon Davis, by David Hilton- Barber.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Allison, Josephine (8 July 2020). "Tracking down the dark world of cycad theft in new Tony Park thriller". Have a Go News. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ Woodhead, Cameron (31 July 2020). "Fiction reviews: The Extraordinaries and other titles". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ a b Sears, Michael (6 April 2020). "Two thrillers in one, as Tony Park heads to Namibia and a search for lost gold". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ Carr, Michaela (21 February 2016). "Creative writing helping military vets deal with PTSD". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ Purcell, John (19 July 2010). "Tony Park, author of The Delta, answers Ten Terrifying Questions". Booktopia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ ""Marist Alumni"". Marist Schools Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ Khoo, Valerie (11 August 2019). "Ep 293 We chat to Tony Park, bestselling author of 'Ghosts of the Past' | Australian Writers' Centre blog". Australian Writers' Centre. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "Tony Park". Pan Macmillan Australia. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ Auld, Sophia (3 April 2019). "From Sydney to South Africa: The couple who split their year between two worlds". Domain. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ a b Gainsford, Jim (3 November 2015). "Out of Africa and back in the shire: Author Tony Park launches 12th novel". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ Lloyd, Alex (7 July 2020). "#81 Tony Park". Life on the Line Podcast. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ Allison, Peter (21 December 2015). "Author Tony Park's Inspiration For 'An Empty Coast'". Wilderness Safaris. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Q&A with Tony Park, author of Scent of Fear". Pan Macmillan South Africa. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ McDuling, Sarah (8 November 2018). "Q&A with Tony Park". Booktopia. Retrieved 28 January 2021.