Novelist William Boyd to Write Next James Bond Novel

Posted on April 17, 2012

HarperCollins announced that award-winning novelist William Boyd will write the next James Bond novel. Boyd is the bestselling author of Restless, Any Human Heart and the just-released Waiting for Sunrise. Boyd is the winner of the Whitbread Literary Award and the Somerset Maugham Award, and has been shortlisted for Booker prize. Boyd will set the new Bond novel in in 1969, which ought to be interesting.

The book will be released in the fall of 2013 and does not yet have a title. The Ian Fleming estate has varied its selection of authors to continue the Bond franchise. Jeffery Deaver wrote Carte Blanche in 2011, and Sebastian Faulks wrote Devil May Care in 2008.

Boyd issued a statement about his new project:

"When the Ian Fleming estate invited me to write the new James Bond novel I didn't hesitate. I accepted at once – for me the prospect appeared incredibly exciting and stimulating – a once-in-a-lifetime challenge. In fact my father introduced me to the James Bond novels in the 1960s and I read them all then – From Russia with Love being my favourite."

"I then became very intrigued by Ian Fleming the man and have written about him on numerous occasions. The fascination went so far that I placed him as a character in my novel Any Human Heart where he’s responsible for recruiting the novel's protagonist, Logan Mountstuart, into the Naval Intelligence Division in World War II."

"One other coincidence should be mentioned. It turns out that I've worked with three of the actors who have played James Bond over the years. They've all starred in films that I've written: Sean Connery in A Good Man in Africa, Pierce Brosnan in Mr. Johnson and Daniel Craig in The Trench. The idea that these somewhat random connections with Fleming and Bond should culminate in my writing a new James Bond novel is irresistibly appealing. The only thing I'm prepared to say at this stage about the novel that I will write is that it will be set in 1969."

You can read more about William Boyd at his website.