The publisher’s passion for graffiti sketches has been clear for decades. Beginning in 2002, Publikat’s Blackbook Sessions series presented a variety of writers and styles and found great international success. While those earlier volumes showcased a mix of writers and styles, the new GRAFFITI BLACKBOOKS series takes things to a much deeper level: each title focuses exclusively on one writer, highlighting the full spectrum of their artistic expression. For the launch, no artist could be more fitting than BATES. The Scandinavian writer has been active since 1984 and is one of the few who has remained consistently prolific without ever pau sing his career. Despite his incredible creative output, there has been no new book on him in this millennium – the last one, published in 1998, is still regarded as a collector’s gem in graffiti libraries worldwide. BATES belongs to the absolute global elite of style writing. No one masters the classic letter style quite like him. In recent years, he has gained further recognition with his Exchange Project, in which he reinterprets sketches dedicated to him by other writers and brings them to life on walls in his unmistakable style. This book, however, is all about his own sketches. Amazingly, BATES has kept them all. They are presented here exactly as they exist: marked with paint, spraydust, filled with handwritten notes, folded from being carried in a pocket, or weathered from a night outdoors. Each one is raw, authentic, and a direct insight into his process. Adding further depth, selected sketches are shown alongside the corresponding finished piece, allowing readers to study the transformation: Was the sketch transferred to the wall 1:1? Does the flow of the letters carry the same force on the wall as on paper? Were intentional adjust ments or additions made? The book is rounded out with text passages in which BATES shares his reflections on sketches, letters, and the essence of style writing. For the first time ever, these private work – kept hidden from the public until now – are revealed in GRAFFITI BLACKBOOKS – BATES, making it an essential publication for graffiti enthusi asts, collectors, and lovers of contemporary urban art