tˈɑːmpsən wˈɜːkt fɔːɹ pˈɛŋɡwɪn ˌɛdʒuːkˈeɪʃən fɚɹə tˈaɪm, ænd ðˈɛn, ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti sˈɪks, wɪð hɪz sˈɛkənd wˈaɪf sˈaɪən wˈɪljəmz, ænd lˈaɪkmˈaɪndᵻd fɹˈɛndz dʒˈɑːn bˈɜːdʒɚ, lˈiːsə ɐpˈɪɡnənˌɛsi, ɹˈɪtʃɚd ɐpˈɪɡnənˌɛsi, ˈɑːɹnəld wˈɛskɚ ænd kɹˈɪs sˈɪɹl, tˈɑːmpsən fˈaʊndᵻd ðə ɹˈaɪɾɚz ænd ɹˈiːdɚz koʊˈɑːpɚɹətˌɪv tə pˈʌblɪʃ bˈʊks, wɪð ˈɔːθɚz ɪŋklˈuːdɪŋ tˈoʊni mˈɛdɪnə, sˈuːɛɹ hˈæmæd, sˈæfɪjə hˈɛndɚsənhˈoʊmz, ænd ɐʃˈæ bˈændɛl, æz wˈɛl æz hjˈuːi pˈiː. nˈuːtən.
Thompson worked for Penguin Education for a time, and then, in 1976, with his second wife Sian Williams, and like-minded friends John Berger, Lisa Appignanesi, Richard Appignanesi, Arnold Wesker and Chris Searle, Thompson founded the Writers and Readers Cooperative to publish books, with authors including Tony Medina, Suheir Hammad, Safiya Henderson-Holmes, and Asha Bandele, as well as Huey P. Newton.