Storynory - where we normally do children’s stories - has an interview which might interest a wider audience. It’s with Charlie Higson - who appears on TV as the used car salesman Swiss Toni - and who is also an accomplished thriller writer. He was chosen by the estate of James Bond creator Ian Fleming to write the Young Bond series of novels about the formative years of the secret agent. They are based in the 1930s, when Bond was a lad at Eton.

The title of his latest novel, Double or Die, was chosen by an interent poll over at the Young Bond site. There are also some excellent unofficial Bond sites that have been important in growing the popularity of the Young Bond series. In general, it’s pretty clear that the publishers of Children’s books, such as Puffin, are fairly clued up about the Internet. I think they are ahead of publishers for adult books, some of whom still regard the internet as a threat to their intellectual property. In fact, much of the marketing and public relations for children’s books takes place online these days - hence Storynory’s good relations with authors for young people.

We’ve also been working on a pilot of a new podcast, and have generally been keeping ourselves busy during the first week of the New Year..