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Licence Expired: the Unauthorized James Bond

timdalton007timdalton007 North Alabama
in Literary 007 Posts: 155
I receive the Fund For Writers free email newsletter and while reading the most recent one, I noticed a listing in the Freelance Market section. Intrigued I clicked on the link offered and read the following:
David Nickle and Madeline Ashby are co-editing Licence Expired: the Unauthorized James Bond for ChiZine Publications, seeking stories based on the character of James Bond as described in Ian Fleming's fourteen published works. The anthology will be published by ChiZine Publications in Canada only, as Fleming's work has entered the public domain only in Canada and a few other countries.

Because of those legal restrictions, stories must only reference elements from Fleming's stories, and not elements introduced exclusively in the films, new novels and stories, games or other media.

“We want to feature original, transformative stories set in the world of Secret Agent 007,” says Nickle. “We're hoping our contributors will combine the guilty-pleasure excitement of the vintage Fleming experience with a modern critique of it.”

“This is an opportunity to comment on the Bond universe from within it,” adds Ashby.

Licence Expired: the Unauthorized James Bond is open for submissions until June 1, 2015 and will be published in November, 2015.

Stories should be a maximum of 5,000 words. Payment is 6 cents a word (Canadian).

Now I know that Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four was in the public domain in Canada but this is the first I've heard about Bond falling into public domain. If that's indeed the case, this could be an interesting first legal non-Fleming estate authorized project.

timdalton007
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Comments

  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,577
    Thank you for the info!
  • ggl007ggl007 www.archivo007.com Spain, España
    Posts: 2,541
    I thought it was all a question about Fleming's James Bond and the 50 years passed. But, what about this?? http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/canadian-remake-of-james-bond-film-for-your-eyes-only-in-the-works-spectre-followup-starts-in-spring-20151130?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=Netvibes
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,251
    Thanks to a member of another Bond site here is the:

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Introduction by Matt Sherman
    • Foreword: The Bitch is Dead Now by David Nickle
    • “One Is Sorrow” by Jacqueline Baker
    • “The Gale of the World” by Robert J. Wiersema
    • “Red Indians” by Richard Lee Byers
    • “The Gladiator Lie” by Kelly Robson
    • “Half the Sky” by E.L. Chen
    • “In Havana” by Jeffrey Ford
    • “Mastering the Art of French Killing” by Michael Skeet
    • “A Dirty Business” by Iain McLaughlin
    • “Sorrow’s Spy” by Catherine McLeod
    • “Mosaic” by Karl Schroeder
    • “The Spy Who Remembered Me” by James Alan Gardner
    • “Daedelus” by Jamie Mason
    • “Through Your Eyes Only” by A.M. Dellamonica
    • “Two Graves” by Ian Rogers
    • “No Mr. Bond” by Charles Stross
    • “The Man with the Beholden Gun: an e-pistol-ary story by some other Ian Fleming” by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer
    • “The Cyclorama” by Laird Barron
    • “You Never Love Once” by Claude Lalumière
    • “Not an Honourable Disease” by Corey Redekop
    • Afterword by Madeline Ashby
  • timdalton007timdalton007 North Alabama
    Posts: 155
    Has anyone managed to read it and get it sent to them outside of Canada? I tried ordering it but Amazon.Ca won't ship it over the border and my attempt to have it sent to a Canadian friend got lost in their post.

    timdalton007
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Good Lord, most (if not all) of these titles are extremely cringe-worthy. And they have, once, expressed hatred over Gardner's titles. Go figure.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    edited December 2016 Posts: 6,844
    I'm afraid I must agree with you, @ClarkDevlin. The only titles that sound like they might be okay-ish, depending upon the content of the story, are maybe "One Is Sorrow," "The Gladiator Lie," maybe "Mastering the Art of French Killing," "Mosaic," and "Daedelus," which is a misspelling (intentional or accidental?) of a character from Greek mythology.

    Other than that many of these are just downright bland: "Red Indians," "A Dirty Business," "In Havana" (I presume the story is set...in Havana?), "Two Graves," "Not an Honorable Disease."

    Or fairly awful: "The Gale of the World," "Half the Sky," "Sorrow's Spy," "The Cyclorama."

    And then there are the truly awful wordplays on Fleming titles that just never should have been approved: "The Spy Who Remembered Me," "Through Your Eyes Only," "The Man with the Beholden Gun: yada yada yada," "You Never Love Once."

    And perhaps the most imaginative title of all: "No Mr. Bond" which I'm assuming was brilliantly landed upon when the story's author accidentally spilled coffee on his referential copy of Gardner's No Deals Mr. Bond.

    From the titles alone it sounds like most of these authors were going for more of an artsy, navel-gazing, Skyfall-esque take on Bond. Still, if any of the stories actually turned out to be good, I'd be interested in reading some day. Any Canadians on here who have picked this up?
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    edited December 2016 Posts: 3,157
    According to the reviews I read online, most of these stories are really awful. One of them is a sequel or a retelling of Dr. No, and it is said that Julius No worked for SPECTRE. This is true in the movie, but not in the original novel, and it makes you wonder how much its author knows about Bond.
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    And then there are the truly awful wordplays on Fleming titles that just never should have been approved: "The Spy Who Remembered Me," "Through Your Eyes Only," "The Man with the Beholden Gun: yada yada yada," "You Never Love Once."

    Completely agree. These sounds like parodies rathern than straight-forward Bond missions. What's the point in making a spoof if you have the rights to use James Bond?
    After all, we know what happened the last time someone tried to do a James Bond spoof while using the James Bond rights, and we all wish they didn't.

    Not to mention, they all sound awful and uninspiring to say the least. There are lots of ways to be creative with Fleming titles, as proven here.
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    And perhaps the most imaginative title of all: "No Mr. Bond" which I'm assuming was brilliantly landed upon when the story's author accidentally spilled coffee on his referential copy of Gardner's No Deals Mr. Bond.


    :)) :)) =))


    I'm looking forward to Bond entering public domain in Europe. By then I'll be 39, and I already have a few ideas to write a proper James Bond novel.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I think this publication was a piss-take at Bond being in public domain in Canada while in other countries it's not.
  • mcdonbbmcdonbb deep in the Heart of Texas
    Posts: 4,116
    You'd think a proper Canadian title would be "No, Mr. Bond, ay"
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    mcdonbb wrote: »
    You'd think a proper Canadian title would be "No, Mr. Bond, ay"
    =))

    @jake24, what do you think?
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    Eh?
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    :))
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    It's not a stereotype eh. We say it all the time.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Old habits die hard, eh? :))
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    To quote Ross and Joey: "Die Hard!!!!" Eh?
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited December 2016 Posts: 15,423
    jake24 wrote: »
    To quote Ross and Joey: "Die Hard!!!!" Eh?
    Bingo! Eh? :))

    That said, @jake24, let's hope neither would end up sleeping on one another watching Die Hard... or reading that Bond book the thread is about.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    Seriously, this "No, Mr. Bond" business is one of the few times I'm ashamed to be a Canadian, eh.
  • mcdonbbmcdonbb deep in the Heart of Texas
    Posts: 4,116
    Nah don't be too ashamed @jake24 . ..Texas is due something stupid any day now :D
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    Eh!
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    Posts: 1,053
    Walecs wrote: »
    According to the reviews I read online, most of these stories are really awful. One of them is a sequel or a retelling of Dr. No, and it is said that Julius No worked for SPECTRE. This is true in the movie, but not in the original novel, and it makes you wonder how much its author knows about Bond.

    Doesn't it also contravene what the publishers themselves said about sticking to Fleming only material? A small detail but one which the lawyers may be able to exploit?


  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,251
    stag wrote: »
    Walecs wrote: »
    According to the reviews I read online, most of these stories are really awful. One of them is a sequel or a retelling of Dr. No, and it is said that Julius No worked for SPECTRE. This is true in the movie, but not in the original novel, and it makes you wonder how much its author knows about Bond.

    Doesn't it also contravene what the publishers themselves said about sticking to Fleming only material? A small detail but one which the lawyers may be able to exploit?


    Yes, a good point and one Eon's lawyers would be silly to miss!
  • MrcogginsMrcoggins Following in the footsteps of Quentin Quigley.
    Posts: 3,144
    That ball would be better off in IFPs court I think .
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,251
    Mrcoggins wrote: »
    That ball would be better off in IFPs court I think .

    Well, yes, and good luck to them. That said, I'd still like to read this book, even though the stories in it are probably not very good at all.
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    edited December 2016 Posts: 1,053
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    That said, I'd still like to read this book, even though the stories in it are probably not very good at all.

    It's available free on a few pirate sites. I won't download it myself and never recommend others do so wont provide a link but those cheeky scamps who manage such places have soon found a way to circumvent the 'only available in Canada' clause.

    Goodreads give the book quite decent reviews.

  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    stag wrote: »
    Walecs wrote: »
    According to the reviews I read online, most of these stories are really awful. One of them is a sequel or a retelling of Dr. No, and it is said that Julius No worked for SPECTRE. This is true in the movie, but not in the original novel, and it makes you wonder how much its author knows about Bond.

    Doesn't it also contravene what the publishers themselves said about sticking to Fleming only material? A small detail but one which the lawyers may be able to exploit?

    Yes, exactly my thought.
  • QuantumOrganizationQuantumOrganization We have people everywhere
    Posts: 1,187
    Is this book worth trying to scavenge for? Or is it just glorified fan-fiction?
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited December 2016 Posts: 15,423
    Judging by the titles of each story, it's no less than a piss-take at being Bond fan fiction, flipping a middle-finger at the face of IFP.
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    @QuantumOrganization

    It's just awful fanfiction.

    Cool username and pic, by the way. Welcome to the boards.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,251
    I would like a copy of this book though very sadly it is looking like I will have to look for it online instead as it is not possible to get a copy from Canada to the UK any way that I can figure out.
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    edited December 2016 Posts: 1,053
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    I would like a copy of this book though very sadly it is looking like I will have to look for it online instead as it is not possible to get a copy from Canada to the UK any way that I can figure out.

    Do we have any Canadian members who would be willing to buy the book and ship it on your behalf?

    I got a copy of 'Spycatcher' via a friend in South Africa after it had been banned in the UK. Now that was a terrible book!

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