The full press release is pasted below for your delectation:
‘A thrilling privilege and an exciting
challenge.’ Steve Cole to take on Young Bond.
Random
House Children’s Publishers will publish a new wave of authorized
Young
Bond titles.
Random House Children’s
Publishers (RHCP) are delighted to announce that Steve Cole has been selected
by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., the Fleming family-owned company, as the
author of a new Young Bond series.
RHCP have acquired UK and
Commonwealth rights in four titles from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown on behalf
of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. and Curtis Brown will represent all foreign
rights.
The author to accept this exciting mission is DOCTOR WHO and ASTROSAURS
author, Steve Cole, has sold over three million copies of his RHCP books in the
UK.
These new titles will pick up where
Charlie Higson – the writer of the previous wave of Young Bond titles – left
off and will follow teenage James in the aftermath of his expulsion from Eton. This
time in Bond’s life has never been explored before and readers can expect all
the thrills, action, glamour and tension that are the essential ingredients of
a classic Bond adventure.
Cole’s first Young Bond novel will launch with a dynamic marketing and
publicity campaign in Autumn 2014. It will be published in hardback on RHCP’s highly respected Jonathan Cape children’s imprint.
Steve Cole says: ‘I first
encountered Bond in print as a teenager, when I read From a View to a Kill. Fleming´s writing was so vivid and
authentic, Bond and the world he inhabited seemed suddenly real to me –
and the danger and glamour led me through book after book. It´s both
a thrilling privilege and an exciting challenge now to be shaping a new era in
the life of such an iconic character – with many firsts and surprises to
come as James´s life in the dangerous 1930s develops.’
Philippa Dickinson, Managing Director of RHCP says, ‘I’m absolutely
delighted to be working with Ian Fleming Publications to publish a new quartet
of Young Bond adventures. The
period when James Bond would have been a teenager was an extraordinary time – a
perfect setting for thrilling storytelling for young adults. Steve Cole
is an exceptional storyteller with a wonderful ability to connect with his readers.
A winning combination.’
Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., says,
‘Steve Cole is an imaginative and engaging author whose plots are addictive and
gripping, so we were thrilled when he agreed to steer Young Bond through his
mid-teen years. As publishers of Ian Fleming’s original Bond books and William
Boyd’s new Bond continuation novel, SOLO, Random House are the perfect partner
to work with us in bringing the next generation of Young Bond books to life. On
behalf of Ian Fleming Publications and the Fleming family, I’d like to welcome
Steve Cole to the exciting world of 007 – we can’t wait to see what scrapes James gets into next.’
