Vintage to publish all 14 Ian Fleming Bond Novels in Print and eBooks

Samuel001

JAMES BOND RETURNS HOME

VINTAGE PUBLISHING ACQUIRES BOND BACKLIST

• Vintage Books has acquired the ten year license to publish Ian Fleming’s fourteen James Bond books
• Vintage to publish backlist in ebook format

The Random House Group and Ian Fleming Publications Ltd today announce that Vintage Publishing, a division of Random House, has acquired through Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown the ten-year licence for Ian Fleming’s entire James Bond backlist in print and ebook format, along with Fleming’s two non-fiction titles.

Vintage Books is the sister imprint of Jonathan Cape, who were the original publishers of Ian Fleming’s Bond fiction and published Casino Royale, the first in the series of fourteen Bond books in 1953. The novels have now gone on to sell over 100 million copies worldwide and have been the inspiration behind the world’s longest-running film franchise. Jonathan Cape was also the publisher of the first ever official Bond novel written following Fleming’s death in 1964. Kingsley Amis took up the mantle in 1968 writing Colonel Sun as Robert Markham. Bond novels have since been written by John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver
Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd comments: ‘We are delighted to be reuniting James Bond with his original publisher. This new deal, incorporating both print and ebook formats, represents a significant step-change for Ian Fleming and his work.’

Richard Cable, Managing Director, Vintage Publishing, acquired exclusive rights to the Bond novels in the English language worldwide exc USA/Canada. Cable commented: ‘Bond, James Bond. Ian Fleming’s famous Secret Service agent 007 remains one of the most iconic of all literary creations, and continues to thrill new and existing readers alike. We are excited to welcome Ian Fleming’s books to the Vintage list for the first time and to reunite him with Jonathan Cape, the original publisher of his work. We are hugely looking forward to working with IFPL to relaunch the list in 2012, a year which marks the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film, Dr No, and sees a new 007 adventure hit the big screen.’
Vintage Publishing Sales Director Tom Drake-Lee, a lifelong fan of the Bond novels, will head up the publishing team across all publications as Ian Fleming Brand Manager. Two series styles will be created for the fourteen books: one under the Vintage paperback imprint and one in Vintage Classics. This is the first time that an author’s entire fiction backlist has been published under both imprints. The publishing programme will be underpinned by consumer insight to bring a new generation of readers to Ian Fleming’s work and engage people who have recently discovered the Bond brand through the films and computer games.

Jonny Geller, Managing Director, Curtis Brown comments: ‘2012 is the year of Bond - a new movie and a new home for Ian Fleming’s backlist. James Bond never sleeps and we promise an exciting programme of innovative publishing ventures aimed at the next generation of readers for Ian Fleming’s greatest creation.’
Random House will take over from Penguin as publishers of the James Bond novels in April and will publish the Bond backlist in ebook and print format in summer 2012.

http://www.ianfleming.com/

Bring on the cover art!

EDIT: And MI6 springs into action!

http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/literary_vintage_books_deal_announcement_2012.php3?t=&s=&id=03113

bondbat007

Very cool. But it seems like I'll have to order new editions from Europe if they're not coming to the States...

JWESTBROOK

Hopefully Amazon picks up on these. They still don't have You Only Live Twice, hard copy or ebook!

Agent007391

I wish Bond would stop hopping publishers. It's getting hard to keep up.

Bounine

Looking forward to seeing the cover art.

What about some new Bond material?!

JTN

Great news, I hope Vintage re-release the original Cape cover artwork at some point.
The Penguin hardbacks that came out recently were lacking something in the art department for sure.

Bentley

Frankly, I scratch my head when I read this. How IFP Ltd can mismanage one of the biggest literary mega brands in such spectacular fashion beggars belief.
Aside from the fabulous Higson's 'Young Bond' series and the completely under marketed but equally great Moneypenny diaries, we've had nothing but dross since the late, great, John Gardner's first five outings.
DMC was atrocious and Deaver's CB was so bad it was laugh out loud funny.
Now we are being whisked back to the '60s by William Boyd who will definitely have his work cut out.
Meanwhile, the best thing they had going for them, Higson, has announced that he is abandoning ship. Strange when you consider that he is the only person who actually 'gets' Bond and should have been a shoe-in for the adult 007 continuation role. You would have thought that Anthony Horowitz's phenomenal Holmes novel would have given IFP Ltd a nudge regarding this but no chance, we are off on another disconnected adventure!
Anyway, maybe one day somebody at IPF will write a real strategy for Bond and the fans will no longer be abused. In the interim, if anybody at Vintage is considering re-issuing Fleming's original work in anything other than the Cape first edition livery, they should either seek psychiatric help immediately or get their 'CV' in great shape.
Regards,
Bentley.

MrSpy

This is actually good news for owners of intellectual property. The current publisher didn't want to ante up for digital books & the Fleming Estate wisely took their business elsewhere. JK Rowling recently did the same with her HP e-books. Bravo! And the first e-books were really crappy. Hope these new editions are actually worth the cover price.

Bentley

Dear Mr.Spy,
I don't know how this debacle can be described as good news.
At the end of the day, e-books is a delivery system and can't change the works of Deaver and Faulks into creditable Bond books. Nor will it make the loss of Higson any less catastrophic for the franchise.
Frankly if IFPltd concentrated more on delivering a great product and less on screwing every last penny out of inferior offerings we might get something decent to read.
M will be turning in his grave.
Regards,
Bentley

MrSpy

Bentley said:
Dear Mr.Spy,
I don't know how this debacle can be described as good news.
At the end of the day, e-books is a delivery system and can't change the works of Deaver and Faulks into creditable Bond books. Nor will it make the loss of Higson any less catastrophic for the franchise.
Frankly if IFPltd concentrated more on delivering a great product and less on screwing every last penny out of inferior offerings we might get something decent to read.
M will be turning in his grave.
Regards,
Bentley

I explained why it's good news!
Why are you such a doom-sayer?
Bond's supposed to be fun not a funeral!
So some of the films & books aren't perfect, what's the big deal?
The Fleming Estate deserves to be properly remunerated for their property. There are millions of fans yet to be "born" & this is the digital era, why not have eBooks? And if they're going to exist, let them be well produced.

>>we might get something decent to read<<

LOL! Do you have a library card? Go find something "decent" to read!!
You seriously need to chill out!

Bentley

MrSpy said:

Bentley said:
Dear Mr.Spy,
I don't know how this debacle can be described as good news.
At the end of the day, e-books is a delivery system and can't change the works of Deaver and Faulks into creditable Bond books. Nor will it make the loss of Higson any less catastrophic for the franchise.
Frankly if IFPltd concentrated more on delivering a great product and less on screwing every last penny out of inferior offerings we might get something decent to read.
M will be turning in his grave.
Regards,
Bentley

I explained why it's good news!
Why are you such a doom-sayer?
Bond's supposed to be fun not a funeral!
So some of the films & books aren't perfect, what's the big deal?
The Fleming Estate deserves to be properly remunerated for their property. There are millions of fans yet to be "born" & this is the digital era, why not have eBooks? And if they're going to exist, let them be well produced.

>>we might get something decent to read<<

LOL! Do you have a library card? Go find something "decent" to read!!
You seriously need to chill out!

haserot

i am only a couple books away from completing my Penguin collection of the Fleming books.... so... i dont think i'll be picking up these reissues - unless they ever release the hardbacks stateside...

I am awaiting the Gardner releases..

and I am half through the Benson novels - thanks to a giant paperback edition that has 3 or 4 of his Bond novels in 1.

Bentley

Fellow Agents,
Apologies to all if my opinions on this issue have caused rancour in the ranks albeit, I did hear that Mr.Spy has returned from a bad mission and is checking into Shrublands. Hopefully he won't bump into Count Lippe!
My point in all of this is that changing publishers will not, in itself, get us a good Bond continuity series or indeed a good Bond novel.
I'm sure Vintage will do their best with Fleming's work but I think that after the torture inflicted by Deaver & Faulkes, 007 is really due some TLC and hopefully he'll get it from William Boyd.
As for e-books, I've nothing against them but they don't turn good books into bad and the best thing IFPLTD could do is to get us a great writer who can do for the adult 007 what Higson did for "Young Bond".
Maybe Boyd is the man. He's certainly done some good stuff. I've read "Restless" and "Ordinary Thunderstorms" and am half way thru' "Waiting For Sunrise". All are good so maybe we have the solution.
Personally, I'd have loved to have seen them sign Higson because he has already delivered and proved that not only does he "get" Bond but that he is capable of fleshing out the character and taking him to a new audience. It would have been a natural for Higson to start his adult Bond series in World War 11 and then move him on to "Casino Royale" and beyond. This would have kept the literary Bond as a period piece and left the contemporary interpretation to the films.
For me, to have a series is important because it allows an author to hit his stride. Most Bond afficianados would not accord all of Fleming's novels the same level of importance. In my opinion, FRWL, OHMSS, THUNDERBALL & DR.NO were in a different league to some of his others and had Fleming not written a series, he would never have reached those heights. Also, if an author knows his name will be on the next one, I think they take more care. Perhaps Faulks would not have bragged about dashing DMC off in six weeks if he'd been in it for the long all.
Anyway, we are we're we are and hopefully 007 will live an honourable literary existence and not be continually manipulated for short term gain.
Apologies to Mr.Spy if I upset him.
I'm sure that providing his Shrublands recuperation goes well, he will be welcomed back to the service but perhaps not in the '00 section. Moneypenny tells me that M thinks a desk job more appropriate and has asked that he returns his Walther and keeps away from sharp implements!
Regards,
Bentley

Bentley

Fellow Agents,
Apologies to all if my opinions on this issue have caused rancour in the ranks albeit, I did hear that Mr.Spy has returned from a bad mission and is checking into Shrublands. Hopefully he won't bump into Count Lippe!
My point in all of this is that changing publishers will not, in itself, get us a good Bond continuity series or indeed a good Bond novel.
I'm sure Vintage will do their best with Fleming's work but I think that after the torture inflicted by Deaver & Faulkes, 007 is really due some TLC and hopefully he'll get it from William Boyd.
As for e-books, I've nothing against them but they don't turn good books into bad and the best thing IFPLTD could do is to get us a great writer who can do for the adult 007 what Higson did for "Young Bond".
Maybe Boyd is the man. He's certainly done some good stuff. I've read "Restless" and "Ordinary Thunderstorms" and am half way thru' "Waiting For Sunrise". All are good so maybe we have the solution.
Personally, I'd have loved to have seen them sign Higson because he has already delivered and proved that not only does he "get" Bond but that he is capable of fleshing out the character and taking him to a new audience. It would have been a natural for Higson to start his adult Bond series in World War 11 and then move him on to "Casino Royale" and beyond. This would have kept the literary Bond as a period piece and left the contemporary interpretation to the films.
For me, to have a series is important because it allows an author to hit his stride. Most Bond afficianados would not accord all of Fleming's novels the same level of importance. In my opinion, FRWL, OHMSS, THUNDERBALL & DR.NO were in a different league to some of his others and had Fleming not written a series, he would never have reached those heights. Also, if an author knows his name will be on the next one, I think they take more care. Perhaps Faulks would not have bragged about dashing DMC off in six weeks if he'd been in it for the long all.
Anyway, we are we're we are and hopefully 007 will live an honourable literary existence and not be continually manipulated for short term gain.
Apologies to Mr.Spy if I upset him.
I'm sure that providing his Shrublands recuperation goes well, he will be welcomed back to the service but perhaps not in the '00 section. Moneypenny tells me that M thinks a desk job more appropriate and has asked that he returns his Walther and keeps away from sharp implements!
Regards,
Bentley

MrSpy

Bentley,

>>Apologies to Mr.Spy if I upset him.<< 
Quite the opposite, your fanaticism keeps bringing an unvarnished smile to my face!

>>Anyway, we are we're we are and hopefully 007 will live an honourable literary existence and not be continually manipulated for short term gain.<< 
Uh, yeah, 'cause Fleming created Bond out of burning literary ambition and not to make money writing fun thrillers...

Repeating the same post over & over's not going to change reality: this is how the Fleming Estate manages their Bond property, love it or lump it. I don't think as highly of Higson as you, and I liked Deaver more than you: obviously they can't please us all!

But hey, I'm magnanimous, so here's wishing you get something to please you real soon!

Bentley

MrSpy said:
Bentley,

>>Apologies to Mr.Spy if I upset him.<< 
Quite the opposite, your fanaticism keeps bringing an unvarnished smile to my face!

>>Anyway, we are we're we are and hopefully 007 will live an honourable literary existence and not be continually manipulated for short term gain.<< 
Uh, yeah, 'cause Fleming created Bond out of burning literary ambition and not to make money writing fun thrillers...

Repeating the same post over & over's not going to change reality: this is how the Fleming Estate manages their Bond property, love it or lump it. I don't think as highly of Higson as you, and I liked Deaver more than you: obviously they can't please us all!

But hey, I'm magnanimous, so here's wishing you get something to please you real soon!

Bentley

Dear Mr Spy,
Apologies that the post repeated, this was a technical issue and hopefully this will only appear the once.
That said, suggesting that Fleming's principle motive was financial may be considered a little unbeliavable and disengenuos by some of his fans. I'm sure that he just wanted to write a good book and before he fell ill his passion and enthusiasm was omnipresent in every book and many of us looked forward to the new release with a level of anticipation that few other authors have ever engendered in their readership. He broke new ground and created a new literary genre that spawned a whole breed of new authors - Gardner, Deighton, Le Carre, O'Donell, Diment etc. All of whom benefited from the market he created.
It's the Fleming estate that have inherited this phenomenal legacey and it's a good thing that fans encourage them to look after it - they just have to make good decisions that honor his memory.
Anyway good luck with the desk job.
Regards,
Bentley

MrSpy

Bentley said:
Dear Mr Spy,
Apologies that the post repeated, this was a technical issue and hopefully this will only appear the once.
That said, suggesting that Fleming's principle motive was financial may be considered a little unbeliavable and disengenuos by some of his fans. I'm sure that he just wanted to write a good book and before he fell ill his passion and enthusiasm was omnipresent in every book and many of us looked forward to the new release with a level of anticipation that few other authors have ever engendered in their readership. He broke new ground and created a new literary genre that spawned a whole breed of new authors - Gardner, Deighton, Le Carre, O'Donell, Diment etc. All of whom benefited from the market he created.
It's the Fleming estate that have inherited this phenomenal legacey and it's a good thing that fans encourage them to look after it - they just have to make good decisions that honor his memory.
Anyway good luck with the desk job.
Regards,
Bentley

You don't need to accidentally double-post in order to repeat yourself!

>>It's the Fleming estate that have inherited this phenomenal [legacy] and it's a good thing that fans encourage them to look after it - they just have to make good decisions that honor his memory.<< 
With you on the watch I'm sure it will never happen!

>>Anyway good luck with the desk job.<< 
Thanks! I'll send a holler down to the mail-room once in a while so you don't get lonely!

Lancaster007

Not liking the new covers! The Pan covers from the mid 70s were the best followed by the Penguin Richie Fahey excellent covers.

Samuel001

I agree, so far these 'Vintage' ones aren't that great. Ten more to go but I can't see the others being any better.

I wonder what the modern covers will look like? The title with a picture of Craig as Bond on, perhaps?

JTN

Samuel001 said:
JAMES BOND RETURNS HOME

VINTAGE PUBLISHING ACQUIRES BOND BACKLIST

• Vintage Books has acquired the ten year license to publish Ian Fleming’s fourteen James Bond books
• Vintage to publish backlist in ebook format

The Random House Group and Ian Fleming Publications Ltd today announce that Vintage Publishing, a division of Random House, has acquired through Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown the ten-year licence for Ian Fleming’s entire James Bond backlist in print and ebook format, along with Fleming’s two non-fiction titles.

Vintage Books is the sister imprint of Jonathan Cape, who were the original publishers of Ian Fleming’s Bond fiction and published Casino Royale, the first in the series of fourteen Bond books in 1953. The novels have now gone on to sell over 100 million copies worldwide and have been the inspiration behind the world’s longest-running film franchise. Jonathan Cape was also the publisher of the first ever official Bond novel written following Fleming’s death in 1964. Kingsley Amis took up the mantle in 1968 writing Colonel Sun as Robert Markham. Bond novels have since been written by John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver
Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd comments: ‘We are delighted to be reuniting James Bond with his original publisher. This new deal, incorporating both print and ebook formats, represents a significant step-change for Ian Fleming and his work.’

Richard Cable, Managing Director, Vintage Publishing, acquired exclusive rights to the Bond novels in the English language worldwide exc USA/Canada. Cable commented: ‘Bond, James Bond. Ian Fleming’s famous Secret Service agent 007 remains one of the most iconic of all literary creations, and continues to thrill new and existing readers alike. We are excited to welcome Ian Fleming’s books to the Vintage list for the first time and to reunite him with Jonathan Cape, the original publisher of his work. We are hugely looking forward to working with IFPL to relaunch the list in 2012, a year which marks the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film, Dr No, and sees a new 007 adventure hit the big screen.’
Vintage Publishing Sales Director Tom Drake-Lee, a lifelong fan of the Bond novels, will head up the publishing team across all publications as Ian Fleming Brand Manager. Two series styles will be created for the fourteen books: one under the Vintage paperback imprint and one in Vintage Classics. This is the first time that an author’s entire fiction backlist has been published under both imprints. The publishing programme will be underpinned by consumer insight to bring a new generation of readers to Ian Fleming’s work and engage people who have recently discovered the Bond brand through the films and computer games.

Jonny Geller, Managing Director, Curtis Brown comments: ‘2012 is the year of Bond - a new movie and a new home for Ian Fleming’s backlist. James Bond never sleeps and we promise an exciting programme of innovative publishing ventures aimed at the next generation of readers for Ian Fleming’s greatest creation.’
Random House will take over from Penguin as publishers of the James Bond novels in April and will publish the Bond backlist in ebook and print format in summer 2012.

http://www.ianfleming.com/

Bring on the cover art!

EDIT: And MI6 springs into action!

http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/literary_vintage_books_deal_announcement_2012.php3?t=&s=&id=03113

Samuel001 said:
I agree, so far these 'Vintage' ones aren't that great. Ten more to go but I can't see the others being any better.

I wonder what the modern covers will look like? The title with a picture of Craig as Bond on, perhaps?

JTN

I too agree that these aren't great, they are bland and unworthy of a 50th anniversary release. The artwork on the boxed centenary collection was exceptional.

MrSpy

Yeah, terrible.
Oh well.
It's what's on the inside that matters.
These were the crummy covers I read them in the first time:

http://www.thebookbond.com/2011/10/fleming-in-80s-and-case-of-curious.html

The covers made zero difference to me.

Bounine

http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/store/literary_fleming_vintage_reprints_covers.php3?s=collecting&id=03150

They don't seem to go to much effort with covers these days do they? I would love the original hardback covers from the 50's and 60's reprinted. Why can't they do this?

Chevron

Just spotted the first nine covers on Amazon. Meh. Not worth collecting so it will save me some money I suppose. I'm interested to see what the other series of covers looks like, not that I'm hopeful that they are any good.

MajorDSmythe

Those covers are hideous. They'll look even worse if I buy them and display them with my other Bond books.

@Bounine I agree, I think they get worse each time they're re-printed now.

Samuel001

It's really unremarkable, this set of covers. I can't believe they have broken up the titles Moonraker, Goldfinger and Thunderball onto sepatate lines. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is also mucked around with. Two words as one - yuck!

The other covers though likely very bland, may be far better.

JWESTBROOK

I rather like the Octopussy and The Living Daylights cover. Live and Let Die's is creative as well.

The others are rather.. odd. I feel like the shapes were drawn by a five year old.

Bounine

Man, don't you miss the old days? The world of Bond certainly isn't what it used to be. Not that I was alive in the 50's and 60's but one can imagine... " :)

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

Christ almighty, how terrifying. I get what they were trying to go for, with some designs in tone with the novel like CR a card, or TB having a radar and missile, but come on. The OHMSS cover isn't even legible on SECRET and SERVICE. When thinking about consumerism you have to realize that the consumer can't buy your product unless they can read it! The covers are bland, and really have no bondian touches at all. Rerelease the original covers for Fleming's sake, those were brilliant!

DB5

What Committee designed these covers?! Not even SPECTRE could do as much damage to James Bond! They certainly are awful. I like the Penguin covers much better.

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