New official James Bond novel to be written by Anthony Horowitz

A new official James Bond novel will be written by bestselling British author and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz. The Ian Fleming estate has given Horowitz an unpublished story to work with; it’s set in the competitive car-racing circuit.

The story “Murder on Wheels” pits James Bond against Russian ne’er-do-wells and was written by Fleming for a Bond television series that never jelled. Horowitz’s version is being written with the working title “Project One.”

Over the years, the Ian Fleming estate has anointed a number of writers to extend the Bond series, including Kingsley Amis, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd. Fleming, who died in 1964, penned 14 Bond novels himself.

All told, the Bond books have sold more than 100 million copies.

Horowitz, who writes books for adults, was recently awarded an OBE, is a successful television producer and author of the “Alex Rider” YA series, has previously written Sherlock Holmes books officially sanctioned by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle.

“It’s no secret that Ian Fleming’s extraordinary character has had a profound influence on my life, so when the estate approached me to write a new James Bond novel how could I possibly refuse?” Horowitz told the Guardian. “It’s a huge challenge – more difficult even than Sherlock Holmes in some ways – but having original, unpublished material by Fleming has been an inspiration. This is a book I had to write.”

The new Bond book is slated to be published in September 2015.

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