The
new book by Horowitz – a lifelong fan of Ian Fleming – will be set in the 1950s
and will be unique among the modern James Bond novels, in that a section will
contain previously unseen material written by Fleming to which Horowitz has had
exclusive access.
Jessie
Grimond, great-niece of Ian Fleming, said: “In the 1950s Ian Fleming wrote several episode
treatments for a James Bond television series. But it never came to be made and
he ended up turning most of the plots into the short stories that are now in
the collections For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy and The Living
Daylights. However, there are a few plot outlines which he never used and
which, till now, have never been published, or aired. Given that Anthony is as
brilliant a screenwriter as he is a novelist, we thought it would be exciting
to see what he would do with one of them.”
The
treatment chosen by Horowitz, which will serve as a starting point for his
novel, is entitled Murder on Wheels, and follows Bond on a mission into
the world of motor racing. Familiar characters in the TV treatment include ‘M’
and Miss Moneypenny.
One
of the country’s most prolific and successful writers, Horowitz has over 40
books to his name. His recent Sherlock Holmes novel, The House of Silk,
sold in more than 35 countries, whilst his bestselling teen spy series, Alex
Rider, has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide. As a TV
screenwriter he created both Midsomer Murders and the BAFTA-winning Foyle’s
War.
Horowitz
said: "It's no secret that Ian Fleming's extraordinary character has
had a profound influence on my life, so when the estate approached me to write
a new James Bond novel how could I possibly refuse? It's a huge challenge –
more difficult even than Sherlock Holmes in some ways – but having original,
unpublished material by Fleming has been an inspiration. This is a book I had
to write."
Lucy
Fleming, niece of Ian Fleming, said: “We are thrilled that Anthony has taken on the Bond mantle, and can’t
wait to read his novel. Anthony is a brilliant writer, as his millions of fans
around the world demonstrate. He has an exceptional skill for writing spy
thrillers in particular, and it is this coupled with the original Fleming
material and his knowledge of and enthusiasm for Bond, which makes for a really
exciting proposition.”
Malcolm
Edwards, Deputy CEO and Group Publisher,
Orion Publishing Group, said: “James Bond and Anthony Horowitz is a
match made in publishing heaven. Anthony is a writer of exceptional skill and I
have no doubt he will deliver a book that will resonate and delight Bond fans
around the globe. For our part, we will publish the book in a way that
celebrates the legacy of literary Bond and mount a campaign that will make
publication day one of the biggest publishing events of 2015.”
Jonathan Burnham, Senior Vice President and Publisher, HarperCollins US,
said: “HarperCollins is thrilled to be publishing the new James Bond novel
in the United States and Canada. Anthony Horowitz is an author of exceptional
skill and range – his Sherlock Holmes novel, House of Silk, displayed
his amazing ability to reanimate fictional characters to create a new and
powerful narrative. The combination of this talent, his inventiveness and
brilliance as a novelist, and his access to hitherto unpublished Fleming
material, makes this a uniquely exciting event for all James Bond fans.”
The
book will be published by Orion Publishing Group in the UK, and by
HarperCollins in the United States. The
book rights were sold in the English language by Jonny Geller of Curtis Brown,
on behalf of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd and The Ian Fleming Estate. International
rights will be offered at the forthcoming Frankfurt Book Fair on October 6.
Further
announcements about the project will follow in 2015.
-End-
For media enquiries including requests for new
images of Anthony Horowitz please contact Alice Ingall, Anwen Hooson or Katie
Brown at Riot Communications at: the Riot Communications office on 020 3174
0118; alice@riotcommunications.com /07887 527 504; anwen@riotcommunications.com /
07899 79885; andkatie@riotcommunications.com / 07748 592 813
For enquiries regarding English language rights
please contact Jonny Geller via Kirsten Foster at Curtis Brown (Kirsten.foster@curtisbrown. co.uk / 020
7393 4492) and for enquiries regarding international rights please contact
Melissa Pimentel (Melissa@curtisbrown.co.uk / 020 7393 4429)
The official hashtag for the campaign is
#NewBondBook
NOTES
TO EDITORS
Anthony
Horowitz
- Horowitz is one of the country’s most successful writers, working across many media forms, including books, TV series, films, plays and journalism. His most recent novel, The House of Silk was a Sunday TimesTop 10 bestseller and will be followed up by his new Sherlock Holmes novel Moriarty, publishing on 23rdOctober 2014 in the UK and on 9th December 2014 in the US. As well as his bestselling teen spy series Alex Rider, the first of which was adapted into the 2006 feature film Stormbreaker, his other work for children includes the series The Power of Five and The Diamond Brothers. Further screenwriting credits include Poirot and the widely acclaimed mini-series Collision and Injustice. Horowitz has recently joined the board of the Old Vic and regularly contributes to a wide variety of national newspapers and magazines. In January 2014 he was awarded an OBE for his services to literature. He lives in London.
- Walker Books will be celebrating 15 years of Alex Rider in 2015.James Bond Books
- Over 100 million James Bond books have been sold worldwide.
- Ian Fleming wrote 14 James Bond books: Casino Royale (1953); Live and Let Die (1954); Moonraker(1955); Diamonds Are Forever (1956); From Russia with Love (1957); Dr. No (1958); Goldfinger (1959);For your Eyes Only (1960); Thunderball (1961); The Spy Who Loved Me (1962); On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963); You Only Live Twice (1964); The Man With The Golden Gun (1965); and Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966).
- Fleming’s other works include the children’s favourite, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1964), which was made into a film and stage musical; The Diamond Smugglers (1957); and a collection of travel writings called Thrilling Cities (1963).
- Vintage Publishing, a division of Penguin Random House, currently holds the license to publish Ian Fleming’s entire James Bond backlist in print and ebook format, along with Fleming’s two non-fiction titles in the English language worldwide excluding USA/Canada.
- Other previous authors of official James Bond novels include: Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd.
- Steve Cole is the author of the new series of ‘Young Bond’ books, the first of which, Shoot to Kill, will be published by Doubleday on 6th November 2014.Ian Fleming Publications Ltd and The Ian Fleming Estate
Orion Publishing Group:
- The Orion Publishing Group is one of the UK’s leading publishers with a list of award-winning fiction and non-fiction under three main imprints: Orion Books, Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Gollancz.
- Orion Books has an excellent record of Sunday Times Top Ten Bestsellers. The Orion fiction list encompasses crime and thrillers, contemporary women’s fiction and historical novels. Major authors include: Linwood Barclay, Maeve Binchy, Michael Connelly, Anthony Horowitz, Erica James, Cathy Kelly, Kate Mosse and Ian Rankin. The Orion Publishing Group is part of Hachette UK, which is a leading UK trade publishing group. Hachette UK is owned by Hachette Livre, the world’s second largest trade and educational publisher.HarperCollins US:
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