New author thrown in to the hat for James Bond centenary novel in 2008

06-Jul-2007 • Literary

Back in July 2006, Ian Fleming Publications announced that a "big name author" had been signed to write a new original James Bond literary adventure. The novel's release in May 2008 will coincide with the centenary of 007 novelist Ian Fleming's birth. But one year on, their identity is yet to be revealed.

Furthermore, there are no details as to whether the new novel will be a period piece (perhaps continuing from Fleming's last novel "The Man With The Golden Gun", or Kingsley Amis' one-off continuation novel "Colonel Sun"), or instead bring 007 right up to date to modern times (as did continuation novelists John Gardner and Raymond Benson).

A fresh rumour on the identity of the mystery author has reached MI6 this week from a reliable source. British novelist Sebastian Faulks is touted as the new 'man with the golden pen'. Although MI6 has been unable to corroborate this at the time of writing, he is repped by the same PR agency that issued the centenary novel bulletins.

Faulks, 54, is best known for his novels "Charlotte Gray" and "Birdsong", both of which achieved critical acclaim with the latter placing #13 in the BBC's recent poll to find Britain's best loved novel. His latest novel, "Engleby", was released in May this year. Faulks is no stranger to 007 though. In 2003 he published "Pistache", a collection of short literary parodies including a hilarious piece where Ian Fleming takes James Bond shopping. He has also critiqued Bond films for the British press, including a rather negative take on 1999's "The World Is Not Enough".

If the rumour holds to be true, fans may jump to the conclusion that the centenary novel will be a direct continuation of the Fleming canon, as Faulks' novels are praised for their period settings.

Other authors have been previously rumoured for the role, but with some investigation, MI6 has been able to rule out: Martin Amis (son of Bond author Kingsley Amis), Stephen Fry, Frederick Forsyth, John Gardner, Lee Child, John le CarrÃ©, Charlie Higson and Ken Follett.