Higson and Cole talk BOND

Here's a terrific video of Charlie Higson and Steve Cole at the Hay Festival talking about James Bond, both young and old. This comes from The Telegraph.


Steve Cole's first Young Bond novel, Shoot To Kill, will be released in the UK on November 6, 2014. It can be pre-ordered now.

NEW YOUNG BOND TITLE AND COVER ART REVEALED!

Today at a special event at the Hay Festival of Literature & the Arts the the UK, Charlie Higson officially handed over the Young Bond series to new author Steve Cole who revealed the cover and title of his first Young Bond adventure: SHOOT TO KILL.

Here is an exclusive book trailer from Random House Children's:

And here's the full cover art from our friends at Ian Fleming Publications. By the way, today also happens to be Ian Fleming's birthday. (Not a coincidence.)

Steve Cole says: "As a boy I played James Bond in the playground; what a rush to be writing Bond now in the playgrounds of his youth for new generations. I am both honoured and hugely excited to be taking on Young Bond from Charlie. I am having a fantastic time shaping a new era in the life of this truly iconic character – readers can expect many firsts, surprises and dangers to come as James´s exploits continue."

Charlie Higson says: "As a lifelong Bond fan, having the opportunity to write five Young Bond books and bring the most famous secret agent in the world to life for a younger generation was a total blast. Being a part of the James Bond legacy, and being allowed to play in his world, was a real honour and I know only too well what excitement is in store for Steve as he begins a new chapter for Young Bond."

Steve Cole and Charlie Higson. (Photo: Jeff Morgan.)

In Shoot To Kill Steve Cole picks up where Charlie Higson left off and throws James Bond into action in Hollywood, CA. The book will be released in the UK by Random House Children's Publisher on November 6, 2014. There is yet no news of a U.S. publisher.

Pre-order Shoot To Kill by Steve Cole on Amazon.co.uk.

Young Bond: The CHARLIE HIGSON years

In less than 24 hours, Charlie Higson will hand over the Young Bond series to new author Steve Cole at a special event at the Hay Festival in England. As we wait to learn the title of Steve's first Young Bond novel (due for release November 6, 2014), let's take a look back at the history of Charlie Higson's five books and how this extremely successful series came to be.

I published these five installments about "The Secret History of Young James Bond" here on The Book Bond in 2011. Below are links to all five parts. You can also move to the next installment via a link at the end of each post. I'm proud of these posts as it's pretty untypical to get such a good look behind the curtain of a creation of a Bond novel, let alone an entire series.

So enjoy the history of Charlie Higson's Young Bond, and I'll see you back here tomorrow when we will all ring in the start of the Steve Cole era.

I. Young Bond Begins (SilverFin)

II. Fever Pitch (Blood Fever)

III. Name Game (Double or Die)

IV. Gold Standard (Hurricane Gold)
V. In Command (By Royal Command)

Charlie Higson era Young Bond logo.

Official YOUNG BOND Facebook page launched

Penguin Random House UK Children's has launched an official Young Bond Facebook page. This is the first official page for the series on Facebook. It includes a countdown to the big cover reveal event on Wednesday. Give it a Like!

Like YOUNG BOND on Facebook

YOUNG BOND 6 cover and title will be revealed May 28

Big news! The cover and title of Steve Cole's first Young Bond novel will be revealed on Wednesday, May 28 (Ian Fleming's birthday), at a special Young Bond event at the Hay Festival of Literature & the Arts.

Charlie Higson, author of the first five Young Bond adventures, will officially hand over the franchise to Steve Cole, who will reveal the cover and title for his new book due to be published in the UK by Penguin Random House Children's on November 6, 2014.

The event will take place midday at the Main Square, Hay Festival site, Dairy Meadows, Brecon Road, Hay on Wye, HR3 5PJ. If it is raining, the event will be moved into the Summer House.

The event will be filmed and you'll be able to watch an exclusive YouTube video right here on THE BOOK BOND.

UPDATE: NEW YOUNG BOND TITLE AND COVER ART REVEALED!

Turkish YOUNG BOND paperbacks

As we wait for news of when we might see the cover art for Steve Cole's first Young Bond novel (due out in November), here are some covers of the Higson books that I've not seen before. These are recently released Turkish paperback editions from Tudem Yayinlari. So far the first three books have seen publication: SilverFin, Blood Fever, and Double or Die.

The Turkish Double or Die paperback is currently available on Amazon.com. The other books will need to be searched out on international bookseller websites.

SOLO paperback released in the UK

Today sees the release of the UK paperback edition of Solo by William Boyd. This latest James Bond continuation novel finds 007 in action in Africa and Washington D.C. in 1969. The book was released last year by Jonathan Cape in the UK. This paperback is released by Vintage. Very nice.

Purchase the UK paperback edition of Solo on Amazon.co.uk.

You can read my review of Solo HERE. The U.S. paperback from Harper will be released next month.

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE now streaming at BBC

You can now listen to the BBC Radio 4 dramatization of Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service at the BBC website where it will be available for the next 6 days. The radio play was broadcast yesterday and features Toby Stephens as James Bond and Alfred Molina as Blofeld.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN AT BBC RADIO 4