When dreams come true

No, this isn't an April Fool's joke. Ian Fleming Publications and Penguin Michael Joseph have announced that a new James Bond novel by Charlie Higson will be published in the UK on September 24, 2026. Yes, this year! Below is the cover and part of the press release for King Zero.

A brand new James Bond novel, KING ZERO, has been announced via a guerrilla projection at sites across London. 

Beginning with the murder of an agent in Saudi Arabia by a weapon never before seen by the Secret Service and spanning the globe in an epic race against time to avert global catastrophe, the novel brings the literary Bond squarely into the twenty-first century, where the old world that made him is crumbling and a terrifying new order emerges while a dangerous villain – the most distinctive since Goldfinger – moves in the shadows. Higson explores themes of power, technology, and international tensions over resources in an extraordinarily timely story.

It will be published in the UK/Commonwealth by Penguin Michael Joseph, and is scheduled for release on 24th September 2026. Publisher Joel Richardson acquired rights from Viola Hayden and Ciara Finan at Curtis Brown, on behalf of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. North American Rights have sold to Amazon Publishing.

Higson said: “Having warmed up with my Young Bond series, and the short story, On His Majesty’s Secret Service, I’m beyond excited to be writing my first full blown adult Bond adventure. 20 years after first writing “The name’s Bond, James Bond,” it still sends shivers down my spine every time I type it. I'm having a blast with this new novel, which is absolutely set in the modern world, and I hope will sit comfortably on the airport bookshelves alongside other contemporary thrillers. It embraces the worlds of both the literary Bond and the cinematic Bond, and my bad guy has all the elements we expect from a classic Bond villain, with a twist that’s not been done before”.

This is exactly what I've been hoping for, and everything about this sounds great. I especially love what I don't hear. No Fleming tie-in gimmick. No indication that it's "personal." Just a straight-ahead contemporary James Bond OO7 novel with a standout villain by an author steeped in Bond. This is just what the Doctor (No) ordered. 

This isn't enough to pull me back entirely from my sabbatical. I'm deep in the weeds on my own 2026 book, which, coincidentally, also has "King" in the title (you can see my own title reveal HERE). But I will let you know when the book is released. And if this kicks off a Higson Bond series (I hope), I won't miss a single shot!

You can pre-order King Zero by Charlie Higson at Amazon.co.uk.

THE BOOK BOND WILL RETURN

As we begin a new year without any news of a traditional James Bond novel in the works, I've decided to put The Book Bond on hiatus while I focus my energies on my own books. 

In my absence, I highly recommend Peter Crush's fantastic James Bond First Editions Blog. Peter is doing the kind of work I should be doing here. But he has the knowledge and the passion, and that is where the book Bond is being best represented. To make this easy, I've embedded his feed above.

There's also the terrific YouTube channel by Calvin Dyson, who is reviewing his way through all the novels. Calvin represents a new generation of Bond fans, and I am a regular watcher of his channel. He's also a huge Moonraker fan, so...

There are also some stellar Facebook groups, such as James Bond Collectible Books Worldwide, The Literary James Bond, and The Ian Fleming Foundation. My friend Matthew Bradford does a great job of covering the literary Bond and more at Double O Section.

Ian Fleming Publications is the place for news of new Ian Fleming-related books and the James Bond spin-off novels, such as Double O, The Q Mysteries, and James Bond and the Secret Agency Academy. I'm sure these will be fine books and will have many readers. I wish them all the success in the world. I'm just an old traditionalist who likes his straight-ahead James Bond adventures, and I feel like a bit of a fraud promoting these books when I'm not reading them myself.

But, hey, at least we have many ways to enjoy James Bond. We have new films on the way, video games, graphic novels, and spin-offs. So enjoy James Bond OO7 in whatever way you like. Just remember, it all started with THE BOOK BOND.

Cheers.