IFP hosts a CELEBRATION OF BOND, Dec. 5

On December 5, Ian Fleming Publications will be hosting a celebration of James Bond and the 60th anniversary of Ian Fleming's novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service with a screening of the 1969 movie and a Q&A with Charlie Higson, author of On HIS Majesty's Secret Service. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

Sure beats staying home and watching a reality TV show! 😉

LINK: Double O Seventy - A report for the 70 Years of James Bond 007 celebration

Our friend Ajay Chowdhury reports on the 70th Anniversary celebration event in London. Check it out at From Sweden With Love.

IAN FLEMING FOUNDATION 30th Anniversary party

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 30th Anniversary celebration of the Ian Fleming Foundation at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA. The Petersen currently has the "Bond in Motion" exhibition featuring cars from the IFF collection (and few on loan from Eon). It was a marvelous night packed with Bond VIPs. I was very excited to meet Lucy Fleming's son, Robert Laycock, although we talked Houdini rather than 007. Great to see Bond author Raymond Benson and his lovely family in attendance. It was also nice to reconnect with many Bond friends I haven't seen in a long time.

Gloria Hendry, Maud Adams, and Luciana Paluzzi there to provide Bond Girl glamor. As you can see below, Luciana still knows how to mount a motorcycle, even when it's a snow mobile.

Thanks to Athena Stamos, seen below with Octopussy herself, for the pics.

You can keep up with the Ian Fleming Foundation via their official website, Facebook page, and YouTube.

Kim SHERWOOD and Charlie HIGSON event, Sept. 1

Kim Sherwood will be joined by Young Bond author Charlie Higson at a special Double or Nothing launch day event on September 1st at the British Library. The event will "celebrate the ever-thrilling and evolving world of 007" and will be followed by a book signing. I like these two! (Still hoping Charlie will write an adult Bond novel some day.)

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND DETAILS

Double or Nothing will be released in the UK on September 1, 2022 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk.

LINK: Catching Anthony Horowitz’s WITH A MIND TO KILL at its London launch

Mark O'Connell, author of Catching Bullets: Memories of a Bond Fan, attended the London launch party for Anthony Horowitz's With A Mind To Kill and has an excellent report with photos on his website. Click the headline or the image below to have a read.

CLICK TO READ

You can purchase With A Mind To Kill at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Special UK editions are also available from Waterstones and Goldsboro Books.

Hugh Hefner's inscribed OHMSS to be sold

Hugh Hefner's inscribed copy of Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service will be offered for sale by Johnson Rare Books & Archives during the Rare Books LA festival at the Pasadena Convention Center, February 1-2. The website Fine Books & Collectibles reports:

Along with books by these writers, one of the most iconic books from Hefner’s library being offered at Rare Books LA is an inscribed first edition of Ian Fleming’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1964). The novel was serialized in Playboy before its publication in book form.

For more information on Rare Books LA visit the official website.

UPDATE: Per Tanner from Double O Section, this sold for $40,000 within the first few minutes of the show.

Play Bond-themed ROULETTE at Waterstones Piccadilly

The countdown has begun to the release of Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz, with 4K in pre-orders and promotions kicking into high gear. For those near London, Waterstones Piccadilly will be running a Bond-themed roulette game starting tomorrow until the end of Saturday to celebrate the publication.

Purchase Forever and a Day from Amazon.co.uk or Waterstones.com. I will post my review of the book tomorrow.

ANTHONY HOROWITZ appearance schedule

Here's a full list of Anthony Horowitz's upcoming UK appearances promoting his new Bond novel, Forever and a Day.

Waterstones Leadenhall: Lunchtime signing (June 1st)

Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall (June 1st)

Waterstones, Canterbury (June 6th)

Daunt Books, Marylebone (June 7th)

Waterstones Glasgow: Lunchtime signing (June 11th)

Waterstones Edinburgh (June 11th)

Waterstones Manchester (June 12th)

Waterstones Reading (June 13th)

Waterstones Brighton (June 14th)

Chiswick Book Festival (Sept. 15th)

Appledore Literary Festival (Sept. 22nd)

Henley Literary Festival (Oct. 3rd)

Cheltenham Literary Festival (Oct. 6th)

Forever and a Day will be released in the UK this Thursday, May 31. It can be purchased at Amazon.co.uk.

JAMES BOND art exhibition opens at Bletchley Park, May 25

Bond at Bletchley Park: Illustrations and Inspirations

This summer James Bond comes to Bletchley Park. On display in Hut 12, a temporary art exhibition celebrates Ian Fleming’s original James Bond series, as well as the most recent 007 continuation novels written by critically acclaimed author, Anthony Horowitz. 

The exhibition includes a special section presenting new research into Fleming’s connection to Bletchley Park, exploring how his work in Naval Intelligence helped to inspire the creation of the James Bond books. When Ian Fleming was assistant to the Head of Naval Intelligence during World War Two he vowed to ‘write the spy story to end all spy stories’ and went on to create Casino Royale. 

The artworks have been newly commissioned by social enterprise Eazl from a carefully selected roster of emerging and mid-career artists from the UK and beyond. Participating artists include Threadneedle Prize finalists David Storey and Tomas Tichy, the Australian painter Marc Freeman, and the prize-winning illustrator Finn Dean. The pieces are each inspired by a specific scene, theme or character from a James Bond novel. 

The exhibition is part of a wider project organised by Eazl, with the kind permission of Ian Fleming Publications. The project will culminate in a charity auction in London, in October 2018. 

The exhibition coincides with the release of the second official Bond novel by Horowitz Forever and a Day, the follow up to the critically acclaimed Trigger Mortis.

Bond at Bletchley Park: Illustrations and Inspirations
Fri, 25 May 2018 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018
From 09:30 to 17:00
Free with admission

Visit the Bletchley Park website for more details.

Anthony Horowitz talks Bond and FOREVER AND A DAY – get 20% off tickets!

Anthony Horowitz will discuss James Bond and his new 007 novel, Forever and a Day, on Friday June 1st at Southbank Centre in London.

The Book Bond readers get 20% off tickets*. Just enter promo code SPY when booking online here.

Anthony Horowitz is one of the most prolific and successful writers in the UK today. He has written over 40 books, including the bestselling Alex Rider series, about a teen spy, which has over sold 19 million copies worldwide.

Also an acclaimed writer for adults, Horowitz has written two new Sherlock Holmes novels, and in 2015 he was asked to write a continuation James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis. His second Bond novel, Forever and a Day, is published in the UK in May 2018. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon.co.uk.

*Please note that the book is not included in the discount.

Next YOUNG BOND title and cover revealed Oct. 10

The title and cover art for Steve Cole's next Young Bond novel will be revealed at a special launch event for the paperback edition of Shoot To Kill on October 10. Steve shared this information via his Twitter:

Special #YoungBond event 10/10/15 - launching paperback of Shoot to Kill and revealing title and cover for book 2... http://t.co/NQcipZAkGt

— Steve Cole (@SteveColeBooks) September 21, 2015

For more information and tickets to this Young Bond event visit the Cheltenham Festivals website.

Peek inside the world of JAMES BOND 007

Here's a preview image of Waterstones Piccadilly's special "interactive pop-up experience" that will be part of the UK launch of Anthony Horowitz's Trigger Mortis. This makes a great computer desktop background.

Click to enlarge.

The James Bond pop-up experience, "Trigger Mortis: Unlocking Bond", runs Monday, September 7 to Sunday September 13, 2015 at Waterstones Piccadilly in London. CLICK HERE for more details.

Trigger Mortis will be released on September 8, 2015 in both the U.S. and UK.

Pre-order Trigger Mortis U.S. edition.

Pre-order Trigger Mortis UK edition.

TRIGGER MORTIS: UNLOCKING BOND experience in UK

Today we have updated information on Waterstones Piccadilly's special "interactive pop-up experience" that will be part of the UK launch of Anthony Horowitz's Trigger Mortis, starting off with a slick new poster.

TRIGGER MORTIS: UNLOCKING BOND

An interactive pop-up experience inspired by Anthony Horowitz’s new James Bond novel

Monday 7th to Sunday 13th September 2015 at Waterstones Piccadilly, 203/206 Piccadilly, London SW1Y 6WW

To mark the publication of one of the most anticipated books of the year, an interactive pop-up experience, inspired by Anthony Horowitz's novel set in 1957, is being installed at Waterstones Piccadilly, London for one week only.

• Visitors will be transported back to the late 1950s with walls, shelves and tables filled with books, artefacts, prints and memorabilia of the era

• In true Bond style, unlocking secret codes and solving clues will lead customers to a secret antechamber where they will find themselves inside the pages of Trigger Mortis

• An audio as well as visual experience, visitors will be able to enjoy Selma star David Oyelowo's reading of Trigger Mortis. 

Produced by the team behind Les Enfants Terribles' smash-hit immersive show Alice's Adventures Underground and the creative director behind Secret Cinema's Back to the Future, TRIGGER MORTIS: UNLOCKING BOND is guaranteed to intrigue and delight. 

The pop-up experience will open exclusively to ticket-holders attending the publication launch with Anthony Horowitz on Monday 7th September, tickets for which are on sale at https://www.waterstones.com/events/an-evening-with-anthony-horowitz/london-piccadilly. The space will then be open to the general public from Tuesday 8th September to Sunday 13th September. Visiting the pop-up is free, however to participate in the Trigger Mortis challenge a copy of the book must be purchased.

Trigger Mortis is based in part on unpublished Ian Fleming material. It will be released on September 8, 2015 in both the U.S. and UK.

Pre-order Trigger Mortis U.S. edition.

Pre-order Trigger Mortis UK edition.

An Evening with ANTHONY HOROWITZ, September 7th

Bond author Anthony Horowitz will appear at Waterstones Piccadilly in London for special Trigger Mortis launch event on September 7th. Below are the details from the Waterstones website:

An Evening with Anthony Horowitz
Monday 7th September 19:30 at London - Piccadilly

Join bestselling writer Anthony Horowitz on the eve of publication of one of the most talked about books of the year. Anthony will be in conversation with BBC Radio 4's Mishal Husain, reading from Trigger Mortis and talking about the challenge of following in the footsteps of the man he considers the master - Ian Fleming. Fans will have a chance to buy the book before anyone else and get it signed by the author himself.

A ticket price of £18.99 includes a Waterstones Exclusive edition of Trigger Mortis.

I'm intrigued by the mention of a Waterstones "Exclusive edition" of Trigger Mortis. I couldn't find any details on this, but Waterstones has done some impressive exclusives in the past, such as the Red Box edition of Devil May Care. Or does "exclusive" here just mean that theirs is the only edition available a day early?

UPDATE: Waterstones special edition of TRIGGER MORTIS

Thanks to DC.

Steve Cole talks YOUNG BOND and O.H.M.S.S. in Edinburgh, August 17

Young Bond author Steve Cole will appear on August 17 in two events at the upcoming Edinburgh International Book Festival. At 1:00 pm Steve will discuss his favorite Ian Fleming James Bond novel, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Then at 4:00 pm he will give an "interactive" talk about his Young Bond adventures.

Buy tickets to STEVE COLE ON ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (Writers' Retreat).

Buy Tickets to THE NAME IS COLE, STEVE COLE (Royal Bank of Scotland Garden Theatre).

Steve's first Young Bond novel, Shoot To Kill, is out now in the UK in hardcover and as an eBook in the U.S. There's no official word on his next Young Bond book, but it's likely to be published in 2016.

ANTHONY HOROWITZ launches new official website

Bond author Anthony Horowitz has launched a newly redesigned official website. Here you'll be able to keep up with the author's Trigger Mortis event appearances and whatnot. The site also has fourms. Anthony writes:

So welcome to my new website!

The whole idea is to help keep me in touch with my audience…and, of course, vice versa. Whenever I’m out doing talks or signings, my movements will be posted here. If there's any news, I’ll try to make sure it appears on this site first.

Publication day for my new James Bond novel, TRIGGER MORTIS is on September 8th and I have that to look forward to. I’ll be on tour in the UK and then in America and Canada. There are two or three literary festivals penciled.

Visit the new site at: www.anthonyhorowitz.com. The author is also very active on Twitter @AnthonyHorowitz.

STEVE COLE at the Hay Festival, May 27

Young Bond author Steve Cole will be appearing at the Hay Festival this Wednesday, May 27 at 10am. Details below. You can buy tickets at the festival website HERE.

Meanwhile, Steve has revealed on his Steve's Space blog some "exclusive" details about his next Young Bond adventure. Says Steve:

"I’ve been hard at work on edits for my second Young Bond book. I can exclusively reveal that in this latest draft, the 40,000th word is ‘barricading’, the 50,000th word is ‘cool’… while the 60,000th word is ‘timber’. 

But that’s for your eyes only!"

Call me crazy, but I'm actually intrigued by the mention of "timber." Hmmm...

Chance to be named in new BOND novel raises £30,000

James Bond author Anthony Horowitz auctioned off an opportunity to be written as a named character in his forthcoming James Bond novel. The prize was offered during a fundraiser for London's Air Ambulance at the East Wintergardens in Canary Wharf. London's Air Ambulance is a charity that delivers an advanced trauma team to critically injured patients in London.

Said the author: "Some writers might simply mention the name of the successful bidder but I intend on doing something rather more. The bidder will appear both by name and by physical characteristics. Aspects of their personality and life will be woven into the story and there's a chance that the character will meet Bond - and perhaps even be killed by him!"

The Bond lot generated the greatest interest and "provoked a furious bidding war" that topped out at £30,000. Horowitz was on hand to greet and congratulate both successful bidders following an unexpected turn in events that resulted in the author agreeing to immortalize both guests in print for their significant donation to the charity.

Anthony Horowitz's James Bond novel, codenamed "Project One", will be released in September 2015.

You can read more details about the book here.

BOND 24 press conference streams LIVE December 4

The title and cast of the next James Bond film will be announced LIVE from Pinewood studios on December 4 at 11:00 GMT. Will the latest Bond adventure tie into the Fleming books in some way? Let the sport commence!

UPDATE:

JAMES BOND WEEKEND in Stockholm, Sept 19-21

Our good friend Anders Frejdh, webmaster of the amazing From Sweden With Love website, alerts us to a special James Bond Weekend in Stockholm for the benefit of UNICEF Sweden.

The weekend will include loads of James Bond stars and special screenings of the new 4K digital versions of the Bond films from Park Circus. Also, Sanchez sings Sinatra!

The weekend is set for September 19-21, 2014, in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information and tickets, please visit From Sweden With Love.