I too was intrigued by that. I said no solely due to budgeting concerns, but I’d have chosen maybe if that was an option.
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From IFP, in an email:
Memorandum sent 27/06/2024
Classification: Gold level (For Your Eyes Only)
To our agents in the field,
Please down pens, down guns, cigarettes and cocktails (not that you should be drinking at this hour). Word has just come through about a new assignment that the top brass would like your eyes on.
Ian Fleming Publications want to know about what books and products you’re interested in seeing from them in the future and are asking agents to complete a short survey around this. It should take about 10 minutes – a lifetime in the spy world, we know. Personally, there are a few reissues I want them to publish, a Second World War project or two and I wouldn’t mind a new IFPL pen case to keep a fountain pen, nail file or flick knife in. But that’s just me.
Please note that this assignment has a strict time limit – it must be completed by midnight (BST) on Sunday 14th July. Agents who finish the mission on time will also have the option to be entered into a prize draw to win one of two prize bundles – just make sure to include your name and email address at the end of the survey if you’d like to be in the running. The prize draw is open internationally, so agents posted overseas please do participate too.
In other news, next week will see the announcement of the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award for the best espionage, psychological, or adventure thriller novel of the year. In the run-up, the team at IFPL have been learning more about the shortlisted authors. Check out the interviews to find out more about the titles in the running, as well as their author’s writing processes and tips for aspiring authors.
Whilst we’re talking about awards, it was announced today that Kim Sherwood’s blistering A Spy Like Me has been nominated for Bloody Scotland’s McIlvanney Prize. This is a phenomenal achievement and has only spurred Agent Sherwood on as thoughts turn to plotting book three in her game-changing new series.
Sincerely,
Miss Moneypenny
Me thinking: Could we be getting a Bond in WW2 book?
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My short story collection opinions and ideas:
I’d be up for different authors writing short stories from different time periods. It’d be a nice nod to Bond’s longevity/the fact that it has been through so many different iterations.
You could even have Anthony Horowitz or even Raymond Benson making a re-appearance with a short story if they’d be up for it. I have no doubt by the way that such a collection could be hit or miss. It could even be slightly gimmicky in the wrong hands, but it’d be interesting I agree.
I’d add Jeffery Deaver to that list, CB does deserve a sequel of some kind. Felicity Willing is still out there, with a bigger threat behind her.
If IFP wanted to use more unpublished Fleming material, here’s a rare period piece I would take. Write the Hugo Drax short story that Fleming originally was going to write. Start with the original hospital explosion and war background as starting points.
Bond’s various ages in different time periods could make a good starting point.
Different (known) villains could be used as starting points, before trying a full novel with one of them trying to finish Bond. My recommendations would be Goldfinger or Blofeld as starters.
Dynamite Comics has done something similar to this with the Reflections of Death graphic novel. With Oddjob, no less.
Still hoping that some of the authors I listed could write in the world of Bond, even for a short story.
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I’d like to know what’s going on with their Fleming adaptions. Moonraker was meant to be the next release but it seems like they’ve pulled the plug at this point.
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A subscription to get maybe a book a year from a publisher that has been shown to have no clear vision for what the literary Bond franchise is supposed to be?
That’ll be a definitive “no”.
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I had a dream last night (honestly). Where many of the Bond villains and allies had a gameshow where they had a bunch of characters over the years. Even book and videogame characters. They had to answer a question correctly or die. They only had one chance. I liked it as it seemed like a Bond tribute. I’d like a similar Bond Book like this, with an ensemble cast. I know that the video games tried it with Goldeneye Rogue Agent with mixed results. In the game’s defense, it sounds like it had a rough development cycle and was rushed. The idea is WAY TOO BIG for a movie. That’s why I would go with a book. I generally trust IFP with this idea. Particularly since they have done their fair share of ensemble casts in Bond books, in recent years, especially.
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Oh absolutely! Its a pity they didn’t do something like this last year for the 70th anniversary.
Here’s how I’d do a ‘one short story per decade’ collection:
50’s: Anthony Horowitz does a short story during the original Fleming timeline, preferably using some unused Fleming material (if there still is some).
60’s: I’d probably get Sebastian Faulks back for this one to do a rollicking 60’s-set adventure which also has a bit of a cinematic feel.
70’s: Not very sure about this as the 70’s were largely a blank slate for literary Bond. I’d get someone who could do something a little in the vein of the Moore films. A more fun, bombastic, over-the-top mission.
80’s: John Gardner is sadly no longer with us, but I’d hope for a writer who can really emulate his style and era and write a story firmly set within his little corner of the canon, complete with Ann Reilly and the Silver Beast.
90’s: Raymond Benson back for one more hurrah…Nuff said!
00’s: Tricky one, since this decade is again largely a clean slate when it comes to literary Bond (the books that were written were period pieces set in the 60’s). I’d probably go with someone new who can maybe evoke Craig’s Bond and do a very “Bond in a post-9/11” world-esq story.
10’s: Jeffrey Deaver in a short story following up on Carte Blanche…wouldn’t have it any other way.
20’s: Kim Sherwood doing a short story set in her Double O Universe.
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I’m sorry, are you referring to IFP, Dynamite Comics or both? I can see your reasons for both.
I’m talking short stories for IFP.
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Great ideas @CasinoKiller the only thing I disagree on is Sebastian Faulks coming back. He said he wanted a one and done deal. Based on his Bond work to begin with, I don’t want him near Bond again.
I dont remember much from Devil May Care, but i remember not liking it.
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I wrote a review on it about a year ago on here. Basically, what Faulks did was pull a Bryan Singer with Superman Returns or JJ Abrams with Star Wars The Force Awakens. He didn’t add anything new, it was a greatest hits, from him. Keep him away from Bond! I’m still hoping for Charles Cumming, Charlotte Philby, or Guy Adams to get a chance.
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I don’t really read comics, so I would be referring to IFP. I don’t really have any idea how good or bad of a job the publishers of the comics have been doing with their product. IFP, however, has been doing an abysmal job with theirs dating all the way back to Devil May Care, and arguably longer than that.
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I agree IFP isn’t taking advantage of the Bond property like they could. Hopefully, that will change soon, based on that survey. I also recommend the first couple of Dynamite Comics. It could fill up your Bond appetizer.
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Have to admit, I love these covers. Gillette once more did a top job coming up with a distinctive design that’s unique, subtle and classic. They remind me of classic Penguin cover designs of the 70s.
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Someone watched some title sequences as they designed.
Does anyone know if the texts be Fleming’s texts or cleaned-up versions?
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So far I don’t see any mention on the actual text. For £ 20 per hardback I would expect the original text. IFP also teases ‘specifically selected archive material’ to accompany the hardbacks. Somehow that wouldn’t gel well with ‘sanitised’ versions.
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Original text or edited - they can do whatever they want as far as I’m concerned because I keep my Folio Society editions under lock and key and only take them out occasionally to feed them warm milk and make sure they are still unedited - but they DO have a responsibility to tell consumers which version they are buying, and if you follow them on social media, they seem unwilling to do so.
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Dr. No the movie had a villain placing a spider in Bond’s bed, but in the book it was a centipede…
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There are spiders in the tube.
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