Charlie Higson will give an exclusive preview of his fifth Young Bond adventure, By Royal Command, at the 2008 Edinburgh Book Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The talk is being billed as “The Big Issue Event” and will be held on Saturday, 23 August at 1:30pm in the RBS Main Theater. Tickets are still available.

Later that day Charlie will appear at a second panel alongside Bond historian Ben McIntyre for a “celebration of Bond: the myths, stories, images, icons, gadgets and Bond girls.” That event is being held at 8:30pm in the Peppers Theater. (UPDATE: THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT.)

And if that still not enough Bonding for you, James Bond himself, Sean Connery, will appear on August 25th (his 78th birthday) to launch his new autobiography, Being A Scot. (UPDATE: THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT.)

For more information, and a PDF download of the full festival program, visit the official Edinburgh Book Festival website.