Novelist William Boyd has been recruited to pen the latest adventure of 007 superspy James Bond.
Boyd follows in the footsteps of authors including Kingsley Amis and Sebastian Faulks who have both written new Bond books since the death of his creator, Ian Fleming, in 1964.
No details of the plot or the book's title have been revealed but Boyd said it would be set in 1969.
He said: "When the Ian Fleming estate invited me to write the new James Bond novel I didn't hesitate. I accepted at once.
"For me the prospect appeared incredibly exciting and stimulating - a once-in-a-lifetime challenge.
"In fact, my father introduced me to the James Bond novels in the 1960s and I read them all then - From Russia With Love being my favourite."
Boyd said he was "intrigued" by Fleming who he used as a character in his novel Any Human Heart and had worked with three of the men who have played the secret agent - Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
He said: "The idea that these somewhat random connections with Fleming and Bond should culminate in my writing a new James Bond novel is irresistibly appealing."
Boyd has written 11 novels with many of them, including A Good Man In Africa and Any Human Heart, adapted for film and television.
The book will be published next year, which is the 60th anniversary of the publication of Fleming's first James Bond novel Casino Royale.
Fleming wrote 14 Bond books and the series has continued since his death with more than 100 million titles sold.