Thomas & Mercer acquires license to publish Ian Fleming's 14 classic
James Bond books in North America
SEATTLE, Apr 17, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Ian Fleming Publications Ltd today
announced that Amazon Publishing has acquired a ten-year license for
North American rights to the entire list of James Bond books by Ian
Fleming in print and ebook. Along with the iconic series, Fleming's two
works of non-fiction, consisting of a collection of travel writings
called Thrilling Cities (1963) and an expose of the illegal
precious stones trade entitled The Diamond Smugglers (1957), are
also included in the agreement. Jonny Geller, Managing Director at
Curtis Brown, negotiated the agreement. All of the titles will be
reissued by Amazon Publishing's Thomas & Mercer imprint beginning in
summer 2012.
"We are excited to be using the opportunity of this re-license to
introduce Ian Fleming's books to a broader audience in the USA, and we
believe that Amazon Publishing has the ability to place the books back
at the heart of the Bond brand, balancing traditional publishing routes
with new technologies and new ways of reaching our readers," said
Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
The agreement for the 14 classic James Bond titles includes the first
James Bond book in the series, Casino Royale (1953)--which will
celebrate 60 years of publication in 2013--as well as Live and Let Die
(1954); Moonraker (1955); Diamonds Are Forever (1956); From
Russia with Love (1957); Dr. No (1958); Goldfinger (1959);
For your Eyes Only (1960); Thunderball (1961); The Spy
Who Loved Me (1962); On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963); You
Only Live Twice (1964); The Man With The Golden Gun (1965)
and Octopussy and the Living Daylights (1966). Since their first
publication the books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and
have been the inspiration behind the world's longest-running film
franchise. Following Fleming's death in 1964, Kingsley Amis wrote the
next book in the Bond series, Colonel Sun, under the name of
Robert Markham. Bond novels have since been written by John Gardner,
Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, and Jeffery Deaver.
"We are devoted fans of Fleming's Bond novels here at Amazon Publishing,
and we're thrilled these books--already known across the world and across
generations--will continue to flourish under our Thomas & Mercer
imprint," says Philip Patrick, Director, Business Development, Rights
and Licensing. "Amazon Publishing offers signature authors a new life
for great backlist titles. Fleming is the perfect fit."
Geller says, "This deal heralds a new phase in Ian Fleming's publishing
story. We are excited to be working with Amazon in North America to
bring a new generation of readers to Ian Fleming's classic novels."
This agreement comes on the heels of the announcement last month by The
Random House Group that the Bond backlist was returning to its
publishing roots in the UK, with Vintage Books (sister imprint of
Jonathan Cape, the original publisher of Casino Royale) acquiring
a ten-year license for exclusive rights to the Bond novels in the
English language with the exception of North America.
Notes to Editors:
About Amazon Publishing
Amazon Publishing is the publishing arm of Amazon.com. Amazon
Publishing's West Coast Group includes imprints AmazonEncore,
AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, and 47North. Amazon
Publishing's East Coast Group publishes adult trade, children's and
young adult titles. For more information about all imprints of Amazon
Publishing, visit www.amazon.com/amazonpublishing.
Amazon Publishing is a brand used by Amazon Content Services, LLC.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle,
opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's
Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most
customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything
they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the
lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of
unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books;
Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home
& Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health &
Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web
Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to
in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end
technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any
type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most
compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced
electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright
sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an
easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages,
search, shop, and take notes - still with all the benefits of the most
advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line
e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch,
with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the
Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and
web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud,
Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon's new revolutionary cloud-accelerated
web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core
processor.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,
www.amazon.co.uk,
www.amazon.de,
www.amazon.co.jp,
www.amazon.fr,
www.amazon.ca,
www.amazon.cn,
www.amazon.it,
and www.amazon.es.
As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include
Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly
from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to
competition, management of growth, new products, services and
technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international
expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center
optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and
strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption,
inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More
information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's
financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
About Ian Fleming Publications Ltd
-
Corinne Turner, Managing Director, Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, is
available for interview through Four Colman Getty
-
Ian Fleming Publications Ltd is the Fleming family-owned company that
owns the copyright in the Bond books www.ianfleming.com
-
Over 100 million Bond books have been sold (and over half the world's
population has seen a Bond film!)
-
Ian Fleming wrote 14 James Bond books: Casino Royale, 1953; Live
and Let Die, 1954; Moonraker, 1955; Diamonds Are Forever,
1956; From Russia with Love, 1957; Dr. No, 1958; Goldfinger,
1959; For your Eyes Only, 1960; Thunderball, 1961; The
Spy Who Loved Me, 1962; On Her Majesty's Secret Service,
1963; You Only Live Twice, 1964; The Man With The Golden
Gun, 1965 and Octopussy and the Living Daylights, 1966
-
Fleming's other works include the children's favourite, Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang (1964), which was made into a film and stage
musical, The Diamond Smugglers (1957) and a collection of
travel writings called Thrilling Cities (1963)
-
The Ian Fleming centenary was celebrated on 28th May 2008 with the
publication of Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks.
-
Charlie Higson is the author of the Young Bond books which are
published by Puffin in the UK
-
Samantha Weinberg, writing as Kate Westbrook, is the author of the Moneypenny
Diaries published by John Murray in the UK
-
Other previous authors of official James Bond novels include Kingsley
Amis, John Gardner and Raymond Benson
SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon
Katie Finch
Head of Publicity, Amazon Publishing
646-753-5759
kfinch@amazon.com
or
Ian
Fleming Publications Ltd
Dotti Irving or Katy MacMillan-Scott at
Four Colman Getty
Tel: +44 (0)870 626 9000
Dotti.Irving@fourcolmangetty.com
Katy.MacMillan-Scott@fourcolmangetty.com
