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Licence To Queer covers queer aspects of Bond books, video games and more. Search here for your favourite titles and characters or find content related to particular queer identities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, etc).
“This is an opportunity to allow more readers to see themselves as the hero.” An in-depth conversation with Kim Sherwood
With the first book in her new trilogy, Kim Sherwood has blown the world of Bond wide open - and then some! In this far-ranging conversation we discuss diversifying MI6, seeing 007 from different angles, setting up MCU-like threads for the next instalment and much more.
The many (mostly tragic) loves of 007
Do Bond stories belong in the romance genre? I weigh up the evidence with Manish Mathur on his It Pod To Be You podcast. I was asked on to talk about On Her Majesty’s Secret Service but we naturally deviated, bringing in many other stories, especially Casino Royale and No Time To Die, I.E. the ones that end badly! Ultimately we ask: doesn’t everyone, even 007, deserve a happy ending?
Interviewing Herr Stamper
It was a sheer delight to interview actor Götz Otto, best known to Bond fans as henchman Mr Stamper in Tomorrow Never Dies. He’s even more entertaining in real life!
TwisTING with James
A new cocktail to commemorate 60 Years of Bond. Named for the Dr. No music cue by Monty Norman.
Exemplars of British fortitude
Despite me being British, sport has always bored me to tears. So imagine my surprise when I found myself bawling my eyes out with pride in our sportspeople twice in one day! Perhaps their Bond-like approach to overcoming adversity had something to do with it?
He runs while others walk
Running probably saved my life. It’s saved Bond’s more than a few times as well. Here, I look back at his running career - which was not exactly impressive until Daniel Craig brought more metrosexual physicality to the character - and compare it with my own, which started soon after I my first viewing of Casino Royale.
Double or Nothing
Inspired by the forthcoming novel from Kim Sherwood, this new cocktail features two kinds of gin. Don’t blame me if you start seeing double.
Look what the cat dragged in: is the world ready for a more feline James Bond?
More than shifting his gender or sexual orientation, surely the boldest way to reinvent Bond would be to make him care for something other than himself. A cat, perhaps? After looking back over 70 years of books and films, I’m convinced the idea has legs (four of them).
“Diana Rigg helped me realise I wasn’t straight.”
An award-nominated voice actor and filmmaker, Kathryn Vinclaire is also a massive Bond fan who identifies as bisexual. Like many of us - even gay-identifying men like me - she has a “massive crush” on Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. We discuss her Tracy Bond awakening moment and why the world of Bond is such an open space for queer people like us.
Top Gun Maverick
In this podcast, David and Antony rev up their engines, listen to her howlin' roar and play with the boys, lavishing praise on the Top Gun sequel they didn't know they wanted.
Rogering for UNICEF: Mission Report
More than 90 Bond fans raised more than £2700 for Sir Roger’s beloved UNICEF. Rewatch the cocktails, the costume changes and the chaos here!
While we enjoyed Season 1 for what it was, there was definitely a lot of untapped potential. How far does Season 2 succeed in making us excited about ‘everyday people’ being thrown into the world of James Bond?