Young Bond author Charlie Higson appeared at Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate last Friday, and today the Harrogate Advertiser has a report on the event.

Charlie participated in a panel discussion entitled “James Bond - The Spy We Love” chaired by BBC 4 Radio regular Simon Brett. The talk focused on the work of Ian Fleming, with the panelists agreeing that the original Bond novels were an achievement worth celebrating.

“He was once called a great writer who wrote bad books but I think that’s unfair,” explained Charlie, who said he still remembers being taken by his dad to see Thunderball at the height of the Swinging Sixties.

The paper notes that Charlie “seemed to understand the nature of Fleming’s Bond best,” an that he was “diplomatic on the subject of Sebastian Faulks’ recently-published new adult Bond novel, Devil May Care.”

Regarding his own selection as continuation author, Charlie said, “They spoke to a lot of different writers before picking me to write the Young Bond series. At one point all of us had to meet up at a secret location on an island inside a hollowed-out volcano.”

Read the full article HERE. You can also read Ali Karim’s excellent report at The Rap Sheet.