Paul Coates (publisher)

William Paul Coates
Born	(1946-07-04) July 4, 1946 West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Printer, publisher, activist
Known for	Founder of Black Classic Press and BCP Digital Printing
Notable work	Co-editor of Black Bibliophiles and Collectors: Preservers of Black History (1990)

William Paul Coates (born July 4, 1946) is an American printer, publisher, and activist engaged in community work. He founded Black Classic Press (BCP) in 1978, a publishing house dedicated to producing literature vital to individuals of African heritage, with a particular emphasis on reissuing out-of-print books. In 1995, he also created the printing firm BCP Digital Printing. Coates is the father of the writer and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Biography

W. Paul Coates was born in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Edna Coates and Douglas Cryor. After leaving high school prematurely, he joined the U.S. Army, where reading Richard Wright's memoir Black Boy sparked his passion for Black authors such as Malcolm X and James Baldwin. He served as a military policeman in Vietnam between 1965 and 1967 before his discharge, after which he made Baltimore, Maryland his home.

In Baltimore, Coates volunteered for the Black Panther Party’s breakfast initiative and rose to defense captain, overseeing Panther operations across the state until 1971. In 1972, he co-established the George Jackson Prison Movement aimed at distributing Afrocentric literature to prisoners, operating from The Black Book bookstore launched in 1973. This effort evolved into Black Classic Press in 1978—a publishing enterprise committed to preserving African-American heritage and culture. Initially run from his basement with pamphlets produced on a photocopier, BCP has grown into one of the longest-standing African-American publishers alongside Third World Press.

Utilizing benefits from the G.I. Bill, Coates earned a Bachelor of Arts in community development from Antioch University in Baltimore in 1979, followed by a master's degree in library science from Clark Atlanta University in 1980. He was employed at Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center until 1991 and co-edited Black Bibliophiles and Collectors: Preservers of Black History (1990).

In 1995, Coates founded BCP Digital Printing focusing on short-run print jobs; as of 2018, it remained among the rare Black-owned book printing businesses in the United States. A significant achievement occurred in 1997 when author Walter Mosley chose BCP to publish his novel Gone Fishin', opting for an independent Black publisher and foregoing a six-figure advance. The book sold more than 100,000 copies, becoming one of BCP’s most successful titles.

BCP has published distinguished writers including John Henrik Clarke, E. Ethelbert Miller, Dorothy B. Porter, Amiri Baraka, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Bobby Seale, concentrating on works crucial to those of African descent. According to Coates, BCP’s goal is to preserve the legacy of books that have influenced the Black diasporic narrative.

Coates is a founding member and chairperson of the National Association of Black Book Publishers and has taught African American Studies at Sojourner-Douglass College in Baltimore.

Awards

In 2018, Coates was honored with the first-ever Dorothy Porter Wesley Award by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), recognizing exceptional contributions by information professionals such as bibliophiles, librarians, archivists, curators, and collectors.

In 2020, the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) bestowed upon Coates its Lord Nose Award for his lifelong dedication to literary publishing.

In 2024, Coates received the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. David Steinberger, chair of the National Book Foundation, commended Coates for recovering and championing pivotal works in Black literature while exemplifying community-centered independent publishing since the 1970s. The award ceremony took place on November 20 with Walter Mosley presenting the honor.

Personal life

Paul Coates is a father to seven biological children and has two stepchildren from his 2010 marriage to Rosalyn Wilcots Coates. Their relationship is notably documented by his son, Ta-Nehisi, in the 2008 memoir The Beautiful Struggle, which received widespread praise. This narrative emphasizes Paul Coates' significant influence on both his family and community, centered around his core belief: "I'm not here to be your friend. My job is to get you through. To make you conscious of the world around you."

In 2020, Susie Day authored The Brother You Choose: Paul Coates and Eddie Conway Talk About Life, Politics, and The Revolution, a book that delves into Coates' longstanding friendship with Eddie Conway. Conway, a former Black Panther Party member, was unjustly incarcerated for more than forty years before his release on parole in 2014. This publication highlights Coates' unwavering dedication to activism and social justice causes.

External links

• Black Classic Press website
• BCP Digital Printing website
• "The Scholars: Paul Coates Part 1", UDC-TV, March 31, 2017.
• "Tour of Black Classic Press". BookTV features an interview with founder Paul Coates, February 20, 2018.
• Alex Green, "WI15: Preserving African-American Writings: PW Talks with W. Paul Coates", Publishers Weekly, January 10, 2020.
• "The Quarantine Tapes 149: Paul Coates". Interview with Walter Mosley, January 20, 2021.
• Sophia Nguyen, "'The point is to exist': W. Paul Coates on his decades running Black Classic Press", The Washington Post, September 4, 2024.