JEFFREY ARCHER jumps on the Anne Rice bandwagon, but with a different trendy twist:

Archer writes gospel of Judas

Richard Brooks, Arts Editor (Sunday Times)
Christ’s betrayer is just misunderstood, says the great storyteller

THE greatest story ever told is about to get the Jeffrey Archer treatment. Archer, who has told a few incredible tales in his time, is to publish a book called The Gospel According to Judas, which will attempt to rehabilitate the life of Christ’s betrayer.

The book, which is to be published worldwide in March, will present Judas as a misunderstood man who did not betray Jesus for money.

In an unusual step for the novelist, who is more used to knocking out page-turners such as Kane and Abel and First Among Equals, he has co-written the book with an eminent Australian biblical scholar. The result is described as a “story for 21st-century readers” that would be “credible to a 1st- century Christian or Jew”.

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The co-writer is Frank Moloney. It's interesting that both Rice and Archer pick up on themes from apocryphal New Testament writings (Rice explicitly and Archer at least in the title of his book).

UPDATE (8 January): Here's an A.P. article that specifically mentions the Coptic Gospel of Judas in connection with Archer's novel.