First female author of James Bond book says 007 doesn’t need to be a woman

By Athena Stavrou via SWNS

The first female author commissioned to write a Bond book says an "original female hero" should be developed - rather than 007 becoming a woman.

Kim Sherwood became the first woman to be commissioned by the Fleming estate to expand the James Bond universe in 2019.

After keeping her work a secret for almost three years, she released her first Bond book Double or Nothing in 2022.

Kim, 34, who is a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, created the first gay 00, Muslim 00 and female 00 to be main characters in a Bond book.

With Daniel Craig's imminent retirement as 007, Kim has weighed in on whether the next Bond should be a woman.

She said: "Who knows in a way, it's hard to predict. One of the reasons Bond has lasted so long as a character is because he's an icon who is capable of change -- which is an interesting combination.

"In terms of Bond being a woman, that's already been confirmed as a no.

"I'm fine with that because I'm much more interested in developing an original female hero rather than mapping one onto a man already in existence."

Born in Camden, London, UK, Kim was a huge fan of Ian Fleming's iconic spy series as a child.

She said: "I've been a fan of Bond my whole life. I would spy on my neighbors as a child and pretend I was Bond and then write stories about that.

"When I first came across Bond I was around 10 years old. I was completely transfixed by the spectacle and the scale of it all.

"I remember coming into my living room and watching Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough and being totally transfixed at him falling from the hot air balloon onto the millennium dome then getting straight back up again.

"I was totally transfixed. I ran upstairs and grabbed my magnifying glass and pen and began pretending to be Bond straight away."

When Kim was 12, she wanted to write her own spy fiction so began to read Ian Fleming's stories as her inspiration.

She continued to read Bond novels throughout her twenties and thirties before she was put forward by her agent to become a Bond author.

Kim said: "The Flemings had been looking for a new Bond author for a while. My agent got in touch and they said they liked my first novel so invited me to write a letter of ideas.

"I had to demonstrate I was a fan too. Luckily, I had a piece of homework I did as a child that my mom hadn't thrown away.

"My teacher asked us to create a piece on an author we admired. I made a whole booklet on Ian Fleming with pullouts and everything so I sent them that."

Kim was then commissioned by the estate to write a trilogy of Bond books in 2019.

The only two pieces of essential criteria were that the story had to be set in the modern day and that it had to "broaden the cast of characters" in a way that reflected modern society.

She said: "When I was creating my story I was trying to honor Ian Flemings's vision whilst also bringing it into the 21st century.

"I looked at MI6 job ads and it was immediately clear that they were looking for a diverse intelligence force.

"If everyone is from the same background then they'll all miss the same clues - so you need a diverse intelligence force on a strategic level.

"It felt like an invitation to make Double or Nothing reflect the world I grew up in and create a diverse and inclusive cast.

"I thought back to when I was a kid and I was playing James Bond, not the Bond girl. No one aspires to be the supporting character, you want to see yourself as the main character.

"I wanted to invite people to be the hero of the story. So I created the first main character female agent, named Johanna Harwood after the woman who co-wrote the screenplay for the first two Bond films.

"I also created Sid Bashir, who is the first Muslim 00 agent, and Joseph Dryden who is a descendant of the Windrush generation and is the first gay 00 agent.

"James Bond becomes the character we need him to be.

"I think whoever the next James Bond is will completely depend on how the next few months unfold."