Bond creators centenary celebration

Monday, July 24, 2006
London (Reuters): A new James Bond novel will be published in 2008 to mark the centenary of creator Ian Fleming's birth, but the identity of the new author is being kept under wraps. Fleming is credited with writing 13 or 14 Bond novels, starting with Casino Royale in 1953 and ending with Octopussy and the Living Daylights in 1966, two years after his death. The authorship of Thunderball is disputed.

''We are delighted to have secured this particular author who we have had in mind for some time now,'' Corinne Turner of Ian Fleming Publications said yesterday. ''He is the perfect writer for this project and we are greatly looking forward to his take on James Bond.'' The company has not yet identified a publisher for the book, which will be released in May, 2008, and the author will be a closely guarded secret until publication. The announcement comes a day after Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the Bond movies, announced plans for a 22nd Bond film set for release in May, 2008.

English actor Daniel Craig, who stars in Casino Royale set for release in November, will return to the role of the suave British spy codenamed 007 who has become one of the most successful movie franchises in history. Several writers have been authorised by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd to write Bond novels since Fleming's death in 1964, including Kingsley Amis and John Gardner. The Bond novels, including those by Fleming and his successors, have sold around 100 million copies worldwide.

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