London (Commonwealth Union) _ When Ian Fleming put pen to paper to write his very first James Bond novel Casino Royale in 1952, he may never have thought seven decades later that his fictional spy will still reign supreme as the spy of all spies – suave, shrewd and somewhat Machiavellian. On the 60th anniversary of the premiere of the first James Bond film Dr No, it was announced that new editions of the original bond novels were to be released under the Ian Fleming imprint to mark 70 years since the spy’s debut on paper.
The world’s most loved spy James Bond 007, first conceived in print by Ian Fleming after which 007 was immortalized in film by a series of actors including Sir Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby. While Casino Royale was the first Bond book penned by Ian Fleming, it was Dr No starring Sean Connery that debuted the spy on the silver screen in 1962.
Ian Fleming Publications Limited (IFPL) own the literary copyright to all Fleming’s books including some non-fictional books and the best loved children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The new editions of Fleming’s original Bond novels and short story collections will be launched in the UK and Commonwealth countries in the spring of 2023, 70 years to the day after the author introduced the MI6 agent to the world. Since then, over one hundred million books within the Bond series have been sold worldwide and the new edition will be in both paperback and eBooks. Cover design will be by Webb & Webb, while there are plans for hardbacks and limited editions as well.
Each of these books will feature the logo of IFPL depicting a swallow tail hummingbird, the national bird of Jamaica which was Fleming’s tribute to that country where he spent time writing classic adventure stories. Before becoming a fulltime author, Fleming’s day job was as a publisher. Until now, the books had been published externally but IFPL believes it is time to bring the books under its own umbrella to complete the circle.
