The six people queueing for Tim Parks' autograph would be enough for many writers after a standard reading to acolytes over warm chardonnay in a boutique bookshop. But it is a little disappointing to see such poor reward for one of the planet's most accomplished writers and one of a handful capable of entertaining at a literary festival.
After all he has just offered uninterrupted laughs and insights on D.H. Lawrence to more than 1,000 people, most of whom had never heard of Parks, in Adelaide's Botanic Gardens.
At the end of the event he has no new work to sign. His 14th novel, Dreams of Rivers and Seas, has yet to reach Australia, so the merchandise tent offers his year-old essay collection, The Fighter.
Next to him at the signing table is Siri Hustvedt: former model, wife of Paul Auster. She has at least 60 people queueing for her autograph, all reading the blurb on the back cover of freshly purchased copies of her new novel, The Sorrows of An American.
Later, Parks stares at the grass when asked if any of this bothers him. The question is more irritating than the issue.
'When you start talking about the mechanics of all of this, you're heading for a dull, depressing conversation, basically. I'm aware of it but try to stay away from it,' he says. 'I could complain that my books aren't selling as well as Ian McEwan's, but at the same time I've been published for 20 years, I'm still publishing and people tell me my books are nice.'
They also tell him he's among the best essayists, they give him his share of prizes and they are mightily impressed by his translations of Italian writers such as Alberto Moravia and Niccolo Machiavelli.