Greg Stokes
14/04/55 – 10/08/24
The Kates Hill Press is saddened to report the passing Greg Stokes. Greg was more than just the founder of the Kates Hill Press, he was the Kates Hill Press, an independent publishing company which he ran single handedly with unwavering passion and dedication for 32 years. Over those years Greg published works by over 40 authors.
In 1986 Greg’s father Doug Stokes was murdered in the aftermath of the bombing of Libya by the US. This tragedy led Greg to chronicle Doug’s life, death and its complicated aftermath in “A Witness for Peace”. He struggled to find a publisher for the work, being told that though it was an important work it was not marketable, so he decided publish it himself. Greg began by publishing a collection of his short stories titled “Black Country Stories & Sketches”, to ‘test the waters’, and so in 1992 the Kates Hill Press was born. “A Witness for Peace” followed in 1994, and cemented The Kates Hill Press as a local institution.
Outside of his work on the Kates Hill Press Greg was a beloved husband, father, stepfather, brother and grandfather. A dedicated supporter of West Bromwich Albion, he was also a constant traveller, exploring as much of the world as possible, an avid and prolific reader. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and countless people he had worked with via The Kates Hill Press and on the Black Country spoken word circuit.
As Greg would have wished, The Kates Hill Press will continue under the care of his daughter Louise Stokes and son-in-law West McGowan. Please be aware that this transition will take some time as we deal with the emotions and practicalities of Greg’s passing. All orders placed via the website will be fulfilled, but will take longer than Greg’s usual efficiency in these matters. For any queries please email: greg@kateshillpress.com
The Kates Hill Press is an independent small press dedicated to producing short runs of fiction, social history, and poetry by west midlands writers or with a west midlands theme.
Kates Hill, one time huddle of back to back and terraced houses on the hill across from Dudley Castle. In the civil war, parliamentary forces made their attacks on the Royalist castle from here. In the industrial revolution it was home to thousands of miners and scores of tiny pubs and shops in which you could buy all sorts. Kates Hillians had no need to go into Dudley was the proud boast, right up until the 1950s. All the back to backs and most of the terraces have gone now but the council estates of the 1920s and later remain, housing an ethnically diverse community.
Bringing culture from a council estate, the Kates Hill Press was established in 1992. We now have over 50 works out by some 20 different authors. A further 2 authors are published in an anthology and another 5 on the old .co.uk web site. Their output includes novels, short story collections, social history, poetry and dialect poetry.
The Kates Hill Press also publishes two series; A Pocketful of Memories, in which bygone times and places are brought to life through the words of local authors; and Black Country Classics, in which works long out of print are made available to the modern audience.
The Kates Hill Press acts as ticketing partner to Black Country Theatre and Lamp Tavern Live.