William Boyd to write new James Bond novel [Curtis Brown]

A new addition to the James Bond books is to be published in 2013 according to a press release published on the Curtis Brown website on Tuesday, which started to hit the news yesterday evening. The press release is reproduced in full below, but it is interesting to see that the novel will be set in the 1960s rather than continue Jeffrey Deaver’s rebooted timeline:

William Boyd is to write the next James Bond novel. The novel, as yet untitled, will be published in the UK and Commonwealth in autumn 2013 by Jonathan Cape – Ian Fleming’s original publisher and an imprint of Vintage Publishing – and simultaneously by HarperCollins Publishers in USA & Canada.

Boyd is the third author in recent years to be invited by the Ian Fleming estate to write an official Bond novel, following in the footsteps of the American thriller writer Jeffery Deaver, who wrote Carte Blanche in 2011, and Sebastian Faulks, whose Devil May Care was published to mark Ian Fleming’s centenary in 2008.

Boyd is an award-winning writer whose 11 novels and short-story collections have been translated into over 30 languages with many of them adapted for film and television. While the details and title of the next 007 adventure remain secret, the author has revealed that next year’s publication will mark a return to ‘classic Bond’ and will be set in the late 1960s.

Boyd comments: ‘When the Ian Fleming estate invited me to write the new James Bond novel I accepted at once. For me the prospect appeared incredibly exciting and stimulating – a once-in-a-lifetime challenge. In fact my father introduced me to the James Bond novels in the 1960s and I read them all then – From Russia with Love being my favourite.’

Jonny Geller observes: ‘This is a dream come true – a fantasy literary combination. Bringing together this country’s most beloved literary character with one of our finest contemporary writers will produce a classic James Bond novel, true to the spirit of Ian Fleming.’ Boyd’s most recent novel, Waiting for Sunrise, is published by Bloomsbury in the UK and HarperCollins Publishers in the US on 17 April.

Read “William Boyd to write new James Bond novel” at Curtis Brown

David Leigh founded The James Bond Dossier in 2002. A fan of 007 since the age of 8, he is also author of The Complete Guide to the Drinks of James Bond. You can order a copy here if you don't own it already.

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2 Responses to “William Boyd to write new James Bond novel [Curtis Brown]”

  • John Reeve

    I can’t remember what programme it was on, but he was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 about it today for anyone in the UK with iPlayer.

  • Tim Mottershead

    A very good choice. In addition to having written numerous novels (inc. sbveral in the spy/thriller genre) he is also exceptionally well informed about the visual arts, particularly modern art….007 saves the Tate Modern from the dastardly clutches of Bolfeld?!!!