Bond For Young Readers
9th June 2025
James Bond and the Secret Agent Academy will publish next summer
By MI6 Staff
Share The Story
Ian Fleming Publications today announced a new blockbuster 007 literary adventure, 'James Bond and the Secret Agent Academy,' by bestselling crime writer M.W. Craven. Publishing in June 2026, it will kick-off an action-packed new series for readers aged 8-12.
M.W. Craven says, “While writing a middle-grade book that features James Bond training the secret agents of tomorrow is undoubtedly an extraordinary honour, it also comes with a daunting responsibility. The challenge of introducing Ian Fleming’s Bond – a brand that has transcended books and movies to become part of our national identity – to a brand-new audience is not something to accept lightly, but after speaking with the team at Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, sharing our concerns about recent research from the National Literacy Trust in the UK showing that reading for pleasure amongst children is at a 20-year low, it wasn’t an opportunity I felt I could turn down. Yet this is not James Bond as you’ve seen him before. Expect whacky gadgets, whacky lessons, and even whackier members of staff.”
Simon Ward, Publishing Director at Ian Fleming Publications, says: “We are always looking for stories we want to read: stories that have everything we love from Ian Fleming’s legendary James Bond adventures but with new characters and new settings that Ian would approve of. This is a James Bond story unlike any other we’ve done: a world of twisted villains, extremely silly names and bizarre gadgets but with a contemporary setting and a cast of young heroes children can relate to. For this we needed an author unlike any we’ve had before: M.W. Craven is the perfect combination of fierce intelligence, nail-biting action and mischievous humour. Not only is he the perfect adult thriller writer, it turns out that he is also a born children’s author. This is a series that kids and grownups alike will love. We look forward to welcoming all new recruits.”
James Bond and the Secret Agent Academy is the first in a brand-new series, taking the world’s most beloved secret agent to a place of dread, weirdos and strange food: school.
A new generation of young heroes, mentored by 007, have entered the Secret Agent Academy to see if they have what it takes to join the ranks of the Double O’s. Together with Bond can they defeat a deadly foe lurking in the shadows – and, more importantly, can they pass their exams?
You Might Also Like
'By Royal Command' USA Preview
Young Bond Young Bond fever is about to spread across the USA again as the release of Charlie Higson's fifth novel nearsShare The Story
