Philip Coppens’ publishing career began at the age of 23, when he edited the legacy of the late Belgian historian Marcel Mestdagh’s research into European megaliths into a much-anticipated sequel. That same year, he also helped edit a controversial non-fiction thriller on the theft of Jan Van Eyck’s The Adoration of the Lamb, which was made into a documentary both for Flemish television and the BBC.
If there is one thing that sets Coppens apart from other writers, it is that he is often ahead of the trends. He wrote the first guide in more than four decades about Rosslyn Chapel – the only one to do so before The Da Vinci Code made that Scottish chapel world famous in 2003. He also researched the origins of the Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull, before the 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie, resulting in a series of controversial articles, which came to the attention of The Washington Post.
As a journalist, he had investigative research into the Kennedy assassination submitted before a US government enquiry in 1993. Two years later, he broke the story of the existence of Chinese pyramids to an international audience. Many of the stories in the so-called “esoteric field” have at one point passed through his hands, including The Templar Revelation, the book on which The Da Vinci Code was based. In 1999, he was the principal researcher for Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince’s The Stargate Conspiracy, which investigated current politicians’ apparent obsession with ancient Egypt, thus combining his passion for politics and history. The book was dedicated to him.
He is the author of numerous books in the English language, specifically The Stone Puzzle of Rosslyn Chapel (2002), on the enigmatic Scottish chapel and its relationship with freemasonry and the Knights Templar; The Canopus Revelation (2004), on the lore of the star Canopus in ancient cultures; Land of the Gods (2007), on the prehistory of Southern Scotland and the myth of King Arthur; The New Pyramid Age (2007), detailing the most recent discoveries that have changed our understanding of pyramids; and Servants of the Grail (2009), identifying the real people encoded into the medieval Grail legends. In 2011, he published an ebook, 2012. Science or Fiction?, with Digital Journeys, which aims to bring clarity as to what 2012 is truly all about. The ebook is also the first to have incorporated video, featuring an interview-style conversation with Philip.
In the bestselling The Ancient Alien Question (2011), he addressed the question whether extra-terrestrial contact has occurred in our past. In early 2012, he published the ebook Killing Kennedy, on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, showing Oswald was not the assassin and the murder itself the result of a conspiracy. The Cryptogram of Rennes-le-Chateau (2012) is a short ebook guide to the small French village and its mysteries. He has recently completed The Lost Civilization Enigma, due for publication on October 22, 2012 and is currently working on Mysteries of the Ancient World, set for publication in the spring of 2013..
In 2009, he wrote and principally featured in Reality Entertainment’s 2012: Signs of the Times (released in US via Warner Home), providing a unique perspective on the 2012 phenomenon. He also created The Ancient Alien Question DVD (2012, released in US via Warner Home, which was also a PayPerView movie on TimeWarner, XBox360, Playstation, etc.).
Apart from English books, he has one French language bestselling book to his credit, La Quête de Saunière (2008), co-authored with André Douzet. In 2004, he also wrote De Da Vinci Code Ontcijferd, a Dutch guide to The Da Vinci Code, which saw a reprint within three weeks of publication and was a top ten bestseller in the Netherlands.
Together with Patrick Bernauw, he wrote De Paus van Satan (2010) , Philip's only novel - so far.
Philip has also contributed to, or been acknowledged in, the following publications or productions:
-
Pre-Atlantis (Dutch title), co-author with Marcel Mestdagh (1994)
-
The Templar Revelation, by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince (1997)
-
The Stargate Conspiracy, by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince (1999)
- Saunière's Model and the Secret of Rennes-le-Château, by André Douzet (2001)
- EGYPT: "Image of Heaven" - Het Sterrenbeeld van Horus (Dutch title), with Wim Zitman (2006; Dutch edition 2000)
- The Dan Brown Companion, by Simon Cox (2006)
- Rosslyn Revealed, by Alan Butler & John Ritchie (2006)
- The Cygnus Mystery, by Andrew Collins (2006)
- An A to Z of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, by Simon Cox & Mark Oxbrow (2007)
- Darklore (Volumes 1-5), compiled and edited by Greg Taylor (2007-10)
- Unearthing Ancient America, compiled and edited by Frank Joseph (2009)
- Ancient Code - The Book. Are You Ready for the REAL 2012? (2009)
- Beneath the Pyramids, by Andrew Collins (2009)
- PARANOIA: The Conspiracy Reader, Volume 1, by Joan d'Arc and Al Hidell (2010)
- Ancient Aliens: Season One (2010), Season Two (2010), Season Three (2011) and Season Four (2012)
- The Lost Empire of Atlantis by Gavin Menzies (2011)
- Exposed, Uncovered, & Declassified: Lost Civilizations & Secrets of the Past, by Kirsten Dalley and Michael Pye (editors) (2011)
Apart from books, Philip also devotes a lot of attention to essays and feature articles, which have appeared in magazines and anthologies on all continents. His articles have appeared in Fortean Times, NEXUS, Hera, Fenix, Mysterien, New Dawn, Atlantis Rising, Ancient American, Paranoia Magazine, Legendary Times, etc. and have a large and dedicated following on the internet. He holds the record as having most articles published in NEXUS, a magazine published in more than ten languages, with newsstand distribution in Australia, Great Britain, the United States, Italy, France and many other European countries, bringing to the world exciting new discoveries, such as the existence of pyramids in China and Bosnia and controversial articles on the state of modern archaeology and Egyptology, as well as political scandals, ranging from the corridors of the CIA to the Vatican.
In 1995, he established Frontier Magazine (formerly Frontier 2000) together with Herman Hegge, a newsstand magazine in the Netherlands and Belgium. Since 1995, Frontier Sciences Foundation has grown to incorporate, amongst others, Frontier Bookshop and Frontier Publishing, as well as hosting the annual Frontier Symposium and Frontier Award. In 2008, he organized the Histories & Mysteries Conference in Edinburgh, which included the first ever public display of the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull, receiving blanket media coverage for the event from the UK press (newspapers, television and radio).
Since 1995, he has lectured on the subject in the United States, Great-Britain, France, Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands. He has been extensively interviewed for radio and television, including The History Channel (US) with shows such as Civilization Lost and America's Book of Secrets, Coast to Coast AM (US), Belgium's Kanaal 2 and VRT news, Voyager (RaiDue – Italy), Edge Media TV (UK), etc. He is one of the key contributors and interviewees for The History Channel’s most popular television series Ancient Aliens, for the fourth season running.
All of these books, articles and appearances have made him a household name in the field of alternative science, where he holds a unique position, as he is considered to be a believer by the skeptics, and a skeptic by the believers – a testament to his investigative knack.
Together with his wife, Kathleen McGowan, he hosts a weekly radio show The Spirit Revolution on BBS Radio and leads the successful Sacred France tours, as well as The Writer's Grail seminars.