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Penguin plots Devilish Bond sales

07.11.07 Joel Rickett

Penguin has set a UK hardback sales target of 250,000 copies for Devil May Care, the new James Bond novel by Sebastian Faulks due next spring. It is also to release new hardback editions of Ian Fleming's original works to celebrate the centenary of the author's birth.

Launching its plans for "world domination" for the 28th May title to retailers last night (7th November), Penguin General m.d. Tom Weldon "Sebastian has written a tour de force . . . it is everything we hoped for and a couple of Martinis more." He promised an unmissable marketing and publicity campaign. "Imagine a speedboat coming down the Thames with the first copy... imagine [Penguin marketing chiefs] Joanna Prior and Naomi Fidler in gold lamé swimsuits abseiling down the building."

Guests were given a glimpse of the book's cover, featuring a single iconic image, which has been designed by The Partners branding agency. The £18.99 title will be released under the new Penguin 007 imprint, alongside the 14 rejacketed Fleming originals at £14.99.

Faulks said he had retained 80% of Fleming's style, and aimed to blend the pace of the crime stories with the menace of the spy sagas. "It's a period adventure in which I've tried to capture a playful spirit." The story features favourite characters Felix Leiter and Miss Moneypenny, and Faulks said he had avoided deep psychological portraits: "This is not Bond meets Charlotte Gray... my Bond has no inner life."

Book Joel Rickett Penguin James Bond

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