James Frey
Encyclopedia
James Christopher Frey (born September 12, 1969) is an American writer. His books A Million Little Pieces
(2003) and My Friend Leonard
(2005), as well as Bright Shiny Morning
(2008), were bestsellers. He was the subject of a scandal when investigators discovered that major elements of A Million Little Pieces, a purportedly autobiographical account of the author's struggle with addiction, were untrue.
. Frey then moved to Los Angeles and found work as a screenwriter, director, and producer. In the spring of 1996, Frey started writing A Million Little Pieces
, originally presented as a memoir
of his experiences during his treatment for alcohol and drug addiction at a rehabilitation center in Minnesota
.
Frey also wrote the screenplays to the films Kissing a Fool
and Sugar: The Fall of the West. Both were produced in 1998, the latter of which he directed as well.
Doubleday published A Million Little Pieces in April 2003, and Amazon.com editors selected it as their favorite book of that year. The New Yorker
praised the book as “A frenzied, electrifying description of the experience.”
In 2004, Frey wrote My Friend Leonard
, which continued where A Million Little Pieces left off, and centered on the father-son relationship which Frey and his friend Leonard, from Hazelden, shared. My Friend Leonard was published in June 2005 by Riverhead
, and became a bestseller. Amazon.com editors selected My Friend Leonard as their No.5 favorite book of 2005.
In 2007, Frey wrote Bright Shiny Morning
, which was published in May 2008 by HarperCollins
.
Frey's books have been published in thirty-one languages worldwide.
In 2010, Frey collaborated with Jobie Hughes
on the books I Am Number Four and The Power of Six
.
website published an article: "A Million Little Lies: Exposing James Frey's Fiction Addiction" alleging that Frey fabricated large parts of his memoirs, including details about his criminal record. One incident in the book that came under particular scrutiny was a 1986 train-automobile collision in St. Joseph Township, Michigan
.
The website alleged that Frey had never been incarcerated and that he greatly exaggerated the circumstances of a key arrest detailed in the memoir: hitting a police officer with his car, while high on crack, which led to a violent melee with multiple officers and an 87-day jail sentence. In the police report that TSG uncovered, Frey was held at a police station for no more than five hours before posting a bond of a few hundred dollars for some minor offenses. The arresting officer, according to TSG, recalled Frey as having been polite and cooperative.
The book's hardcover (Doubleday) and paperback (Anchor Books) publishers initially stood by Frey. But examination of the evidence caused the publishers to alter their stances. They released a statement noting, "When the Smoking Gun report appeared, our first response, given that we were still learning the facts of the matter, was to support our author. Since then, we have questioned him about the allegations and have sadly come to the realization that a number of facts have been altered and incidents embellished." As a consequence, the publishers decided to include a publisher's note and an author's note from Frey as disclaimers to be included in future publications.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune had questioned Frey's claims as early as 2003. Frey responded by saying, "I've never denied I've altered small details." In a May 2003 interview, Frey claimed that his publisher had fact-checked his first book. He stated, "The only things I changed were aspects of people that might reveal their identity. Otherwise, it's all true."
On January 11, 2006, Frey appeared with his mother on Larry King Live
on CNN
. He defended his work while claiming that all memoirs alter minor details for literary effect. Frey consistently referred to the reality of his addiction, which he said was the principal point of his work. Oprah Winfrey
called in at the end of the show defending the essence of Frey's book and the inspiration it provided to her viewers, but said she relied on the publisher to assess the book's authenticity.
. Frey admitted to several of the allegations against him. He acknowledged that The Smoking Gun had been accurate when the website reported that Frey had only spent a few hours in jail rather than the 87 days Frey claimed in his memoirs.
Winfrey then brought out Frey's publisher Nan Talese
to defend her decision to classify the book as a memoir
. Talese admitted that she had done nothing to check the book's veracity, despite the fact that her representatives had assured Winfrey's staff that the book was indeed non-fiction and described it as "brutally honest" in a press release.
David Carr
of the New York Times wrote, "Both Mr. Frey and Ms. Talese were snapped in two like dry winter twigs." "Oprah annihilated Frey," proclaimed Larry King. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd
wrote, "It was a huge relief, after our long national slide into untruth and no consequences, into Swift boating and swift bucks, to see the Empress of Empathy icily hold someone accountable for lying," and the Washington Posts Richard Cohen was so impressed by the confrontation that he crowned Winfrey "Mensch
of the Year."
, over matters of trust. In an interview with Publishers Weekly
, Evashevski said that she had "never personally seen a media frenzy like this regarding a book before." Though she will no longer be representing him, when asked to reflect on Frey's future as a writer, she said, "I still believe he's a very talented writer and suspect we haven't heard the last of James Frey."
On February 1, 2006, Random House
published Frey's note to the reader which was subsequently included in later editions of the book. In the note, Frey apologized for fabricating portions of his book and for having made himself seem "tougher and more daring and more aggressive than in reality I was, or I am." He added, "People cope with adversity in many different ways, ways that are deeply personal ... My mistake ... is writing about the person I created in my mind to help me cope, and not the person who went through the experience." Frey admitted that he had literary reasons for his fabrications, as well: "I wanted the stories in the book to ebb and flow, to have dramatic arcs, to have the tension that all great stories require." He also said memoirists had a right to draw upon their memories, in addition to documents, in creating their written works.
On February 24, 2006, Frey's publicist revealed that Penguin
imprint Riverhead
had dropped out of a two-book, seven-figure deal with Frey. Riverhead had previously published Frey's bestselling 2005 book, My Friend Leonard
.
On September 12, 2006, Frey and publisher Random House, Inc. reached a tentative legal settlement, where readers who felt that they had been defrauded by Frey's A Million Little Pieces would be offered a refund. In order to receive the refund, customers had to submit a proof of purchase, pieces of the book itself (page 163 from the hardcover or the front cover from the paperback), and complete a sworn statement indicating that they purchased the book under the assumption that it was a memoir.
On July 28, 2007, at a literary convention in Texas, Nan Talese blasted Oprah Winfrey for being "mean and self-serving", having a "holier-than-thou" attitude as well as having "fiercely bad manners" during Winfrey's debate against Talese and James Frey on January 26, 2006. Talese said she and Frey were led to believe the show was going to be a panel discussion on "Truth in America". Just before air time, both Talese and Frey were told the topic of the show had been changed to "The James Frey Controversy". According to Talese, at the end of the show, Oprah pulled Frey aside and said "I know it was rough, but it's just business." Talese stated that Oprah needed to apologize for her behavior on the show. However Joyce Carol Oates
said "This is an ethical issue which can be debated passionately and with convincing arguments on both sides. In the end, Oprah Winfrey had to defend her own ethical standards of truth on her television program, which was courageous of her". Talese was unapologetic about publishing Frey's A Million Little Pieces and commented that the book had great value for anyone who must deal with a loved one who is an addict.
In September 2007, HarperCollins announced a new Frey novel, Bright Shiny Morning, to be published in the summer of 2008.
In May 2009, Vanity Fair reported that Oprah Winfrey had called James Frey and made a formal apology for blasting him on her show for this scandal.
Oprah Winfrey has conducted a two-part interview with James Frey, which aired on Monday and Tuesday, May 16 and 17, 2011.
. In November 2010, controversy arose when an MFA student who had been in talks to create content for the company released her extremely limiting contract online. The contract allows Frey license to remove an author from a project at any time, does not require him to give the author credit for their work, and only pays a standard advance of $250. A New York Magazine article entitled, "James Frey's Fiction Factory," gave more details about the company, including information about the highly successful "Lorien Legacies" series, a collaboration between author Jobie Hughes
and Frey. The article details how Frey removed Hughes from the project, allegedly during a screaming match between the two authors. In the article, Frey is accused of abusing and using MFA students as cheap labor to churn out commercial young adult books.
, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, and has received mixed reviews. The New York Timess Janet Maslin, who had previously been one of Frey's detractors, gave the book a rave review. Michelle Green of People
magazine gave the novel an extremely positive review, calling Frey a "wildly talented storyteller", commenting that the novel is "so powerful it makes one wonder why he ever detoured into nonfiction." In contrast, David L. Ulin of the Los Angeles Times
called the novel "One of the worst I've ever read." The New Yorker review described the novel as "banal." On August 2, 2008, the Guardian UK says "Irvine Welsh is entranced by James Frey's tale of redemption – 'the literary comeback of the decade'. James Frey is probably one of the finest and most important writers to have emerged in recent years." The first epigraph states: "Nothing in this book should be considered accurate or reliable."
In December 2008, Frey said he is working on an outline for a new novel, which he would depict as "the last book of the Bible", titled Illumination. He would show Jesus resurrected in New York City, living among prostitutes and the flotsam of the city. It is called The Final Testament of the Holy Bible
and the Gagosian Gallery announced the book would have a limited U.S. print run of 10,000 slipcased leatherette copies, as well as 1,000 collector's editions signed and numbered by the author. In the end, it is being published in the UK and was released on Good Friday, April 22, 2011. He is self-publishing e-editions of the book.
On August 19, 2010 the New York Post
's Page Six reported that Frey has teamed up with executive producers Mark Wahlberg
and Steve Levinson to write the pilot for a one hour drama for HBO that will focus on a behind-the-scenes look into the porn industry in LA. Frey states the show as being "a sprawling epic about the porn business in LA. We're going to tell the type of stories no one else has told before, and go places no one has gone before."
A Million Little Pieces
A Million Little Pieces is a semi-fictional memoir by James Frey. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic and drug abuser and how he copes with rehabilitation in a Twelve steps-oriented treatment center...
(2003) and My Friend Leonard
My Friend Leonard
My Friend Leonard is a memoir written by James Frey. Continuing where A Million Little Pieces left off, the book centers on the father-son relationship Frey and his friend from Hazelden, Leonard, shared. My Friend Leonard was published in June 2005 by Riverhead, and became a bestseller. Amazon.com...
(2005), as well as Bright Shiny Morning
Bright Shiny Morning
Bright Shiny Morning is a novel written by James Frey, published in 2008. Set in Los Angeles, it follows the lives of several characters: a married couple, both celebrities, named Amberton and Casey; a young couple, Maddie and Dylan; a Mexican-American maid named Esperanza; a homeless man of...
(2008), were bestsellers. He was the subject of a scandal when investigators discovered that major elements of A Million Little Pieces, a purportedly autobiographical account of the author's struggle with addiction, were untrue.
Career
Frey graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in 1992. Before Frey began his writing career, he held several jobs in the Chicago area while studying at the Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
. Frey then moved to Los Angeles and found work as a screenwriter, director, and producer. In the spring of 1996, Frey started writing A Million Little Pieces
A Million Little Pieces
A Million Little Pieces is a semi-fictional memoir by James Frey. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic and drug abuser and how he copes with rehabilitation in a Twelve steps-oriented treatment center...
, originally presented as a memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
of his experiences during his treatment for alcohol and drug addiction at a rehabilitation center in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Frey also wrote the screenplays to the films Kissing a Fool
Kissing a Fool
Kissing A Fool is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Doug Ellin. It primarily stars David Schwimmer, Jason Lee, and Mili Avital...
and Sugar: The Fall of the West. Both were produced in 1998, the latter of which he directed as well.
Doubleday published A Million Little Pieces in April 2003, and Amazon.com editors selected it as their favorite book of that year. The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
praised the book as “A frenzied, electrifying description of the experience.”
In 2004, Frey wrote My Friend Leonard
My Friend Leonard
My Friend Leonard is a memoir written by James Frey. Continuing where A Million Little Pieces left off, the book centers on the father-son relationship Frey and his friend from Hazelden, Leonard, shared. My Friend Leonard was published in June 2005 by Riverhead, and became a bestseller. Amazon.com...
, which continued where A Million Little Pieces left off, and centered on the father-son relationship which Frey and his friend Leonard, from Hazelden, shared. My Friend Leonard was published in June 2005 by Riverhead
Riverhead Books
Riverhead Books is a division of Penguin Group .Notable books and major bestsellers published by Riverhead include Journals by Kurt Cobain; The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; The Color of Water by James McBride; Native Speaker, A Gesture Life, and Aloft by Chang-rae Lee; Fever...
, and became a bestseller. Amazon.com editors selected My Friend Leonard as their No.5 favorite book of 2005.
In 2007, Frey wrote Bright Shiny Morning
Bright Shiny Morning
Bright Shiny Morning is a novel written by James Frey, published in 2008. Set in Los Angeles, it follows the lives of several characters: a married couple, both celebrities, named Amberton and Casey; a young couple, Maddie and Dylan; a Mexican-American maid named Esperanza; a homeless man of...
, which was published in May 2008 by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
.
Frey's books have been published in thirty-one languages worldwide.
In 2010, Frey collaborated with Jobie Hughes
Jobie Hughes
Jobie Hughes is an American writer and the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of I Am Number Four and The Power of Six, which were collaborations with writer James Frey. Both of the novels, published by HarperCollins under pseudonym Pittacus Lore, reached #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers...
on the books I Am Number Four and The Power of Six
The Power of Six
The Power of Six is the second book in the young adult science fiction series The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore. It is the sequel to I Am Number Four, and was released August 23, 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers.-Plot summary:...
.
Media skepticism
On January 8, 2006, The Smoking GunThe Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is damning, shocking, outrageous, or amazing, yet also somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources...
website published an article: "A Million Little Lies: Exposing James Frey's Fiction Addiction" alleging that Frey fabricated large parts of his memoirs, including details about his criminal record. One incident in the book that came under particular scrutiny was a 1986 train-automobile collision in St. Joseph Township, Michigan
St. Joseph Charter Township, Michigan
St. Joseph Charter Township is a charter township of Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,042 at the 2000 census. The township is on the shores of Lake Michigan in the west central portion of the county, south of and adjacent to the City of St. Joseph. The Village of...
.
The website alleged that Frey had never been incarcerated and that he greatly exaggerated the circumstances of a key arrest detailed in the memoir: hitting a police officer with his car, while high on crack, which led to a violent melee with multiple officers and an 87-day jail sentence. In the police report that TSG uncovered, Frey was held at a police station for no more than five hours before posting a bond of a few hundred dollars for some minor offenses. The arresting officer, according to TSG, recalled Frey as having been polite and cooperative.
The book's hardcover (Doubleday) and paperback (Anchor Books) publishers initially stood by Frey. But examination of the evidence caused the publishers to alter their stances. They released a statement noting, "When the Smoking Gun report appeared, our first response, given that we were still learning the facts of the matter, was to support our author. Since then, we have questioned him about the allegations and have sadly come to the realization that a number of facts have been altered and incidents embellished." As a consequence, the publishers decided to include a publisher's note and an author's note from Frey as disclaimers to be included in future publications.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune had questioned Frey's claims as early as 2003. Frey responded by saying, "I've never denied I've altered small details." In a May 2003 interview, Frey claimed that his publisher had fact-checked his first book. He stated, "The only things I changed were aspects of people that might reveal their identity. Otherwise, it's all true."
On January 11, 2006, Frey appeared with his mother on Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. He defended his work while claiming that all memoirs alter minor details for literary effect. Frey consistently referred to the reality of his addiction, which he said was the principal point of his work. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
called in at the end of the show defending the essence of Frey's book and the inspiration it provided to her viewers, but said she relied on the publisher to assess the book's authenticity.
Live confrontation with Oprah
As more accusations against the book continued to surface, Winfrey invited Frey on her show. She wanted to hear from him directly whether he had lied to her (and her viewers) or "simply" embellished minor details, as he had told Larry KingLarry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
. Frey admitted to several of the allegations against him. He acknowledged that The Smoking Gun had been accurate when the website reported that Frey had only spent a few hours in jail rather than the 87 days Frey claimed in his memoirs.
Winfrey then brought out Frey's publisher Nan Talese
Nan Talese
Nan Talese is an American editor and a veteran of the New York publishing industry.-Career:Talese is Senior Vice President of Doubleday and the Publisher and Editorial Director of Nan A. Talese/Doubleday...
to defend her decision to classify the book as a memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
. Talese admitted that she had done nothing to check the book's veracity, despite the fact that her representatives had assured Winfrey's staff that the book was indeed non-fiction and described it as "brutally honest" in a press release.
David Carr
David Carr (journalist)
David Carr is an American journalist and author. He is a media and culture columnist for The New York Times. In his 2008 memoir, The Night of the Gun, he detailed his past experiences with cocaine addiction and includes interviews with people from his past, tackling his memoir as if he were...
of the New York Times wrote, "Both Mr. Frey and Ms. Talese were snapped in two like dry winter twigs." "Oprah annihilated Frey," proclaimed Larry King. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd
Maureen Dowd
Maureen Bridgid Dowd is a Washington D.C.-based columnist for The New York Times and best-selling author. During the 1970s and the early 1980s, she worked for Time magazine and the Washington Star, where she covered news as well as sports and wrote feature articles...
wrote, "It was a huge relief, after our long national slide into untruth and no consequences, into Swift boating and swift bucks, to see the Empress of Empathy icily hold someone accountable for lying," and the Washington Posts Richard Cohen was so impressed by the confrontation that he crowned Winfrey "Mensch
Mensch
Mensch means "a person of integrity and honor". The opposite of a "mensch" is an "unmensch" . According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish maven and author of The Joys of Yiddish, "mensch" is "someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character...
of the Year."
Aftermath
On January 31, 2006, it was announced that Frey was dropped by his literary manager, Kassie Evashevski of Brillstein-Grey EntertainmentBrillstein-Grey Entertainment
Brillstein Entertainment Partners is a talent management film and television production company formed by the 1991 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Company, founded by Bernie Brillstein in 1969.-The Brillstein Company:Bernie Brillstein formed The Brillstein Company in 1969...
, over matters of trust. In an interview with Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, Evashevski said that she had "never personally seen a media frenzy like this regarding a book before." Though she will no longer be representing him, when asked to reflect on Frey's future as a writer, she said, "I still believe he's a very talented writer and suspect we haven't heard the last of James Frey."
On February 1, 2006, Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
published Frey's note to the reader which was subsequently included in later editions of the book. In the note, Frey apologized for fabricating portions of his book and for having made himself seem "tougher and more daring and more aggressive than in reality I was, or I am." He added, "People cope with adversity in many different ways, ways that are deeply personal ... My mistake ... is writing about the person I created in my mind to help me cope, and not the person who went through the experience." Frey admitted that he had literary reasons for his fabrications, as well: "I wanted the stories in the book to ebb and flow, to have dramatic arcs, to have the tension that all great stories require." He also said memoirists had a right to draw upon their memories, in addition to documents, in creating their written works.
On February 24, 2006, Frey's publicist revealed that Penguin
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
imprint Riverhead
Riverhead Books
Riverhead Books is a division of Penguin Group .Notable books and major bestsellers published by Riverhead include Journals by Kurt Cobain; The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; The Color of Water by James McBride; Native Speaker, A Gesture Life, and Aloft by Chang-rae Lee; Fever...
had dropped out of a two-book, seven-figure deal with Frey. Riverhead had previously published Frey's bestselling 2005 book, My Friend Leonard
My Friend Leonard
My Friend Leonard is a memoir written by James Frey. Continuing where A Million Little Pieces left off, the book centers on the father-son relationship Frey and his friend from Hazelden, Leonard, shared. My Friend Leonard was published in June 2005 by Riverhead, and became a bestseller. Amazon.com...
.
On September 12, 2006, Frey and publisher Random House, Inc. reached a tentative legal settlement, where readers who felt that they had been defrauded by Frey's A Million Little Pieces would be offered a refund. In order to receive the refund, customers had to submit a proof of purchase, pieces of the book itself (page 163 from the hardcover or the front cover from the paperback), and complete a sworn statement indicating that they purchased the book under the assumption that it was a memoir.
On July 28, 2007, at a literary convention in Texas, Nan Talese blasted Oprah Winfrey for being "mean and self-serving", having a "holier-than-thou" attitude as well as having "fiercely bad manners" during Winfrey's debate against Talese and James Frey on January 26, 2006. Talese said she and Frey were led to believe the show was going to be a panel discussion on "Truth in America". Just before air time, both Talese and Frey were told the topic of the show had been changed to "The James Frey Controversy". According to Talese, at the end of the show, Oprah pulled Frey aside and said "I know it was rough, but it's just business." Talese stated that Oprah needed to apologize for her behavior on the show. However Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
said "This is an ethical issue which can be debated passionately and with convincing arguments on both sides. In the end, Oprah Winfrey had to defend her own ethical standards of truth on her television program, which was courageous of her". Talese was unapologetic about publishing Frey's A Million Little Pieces and commented that the book had great value for anyone who must deal with a loved one who is an addict.
In September 2007, HarperCollins announced a new Frey novel, Bright Shiny Morning, to be published in the summer of 2008.
In May 2009, Vanity Fair reported that Oprah Winfrey had called James Frey and made a formal apology for blasting him on her show for this scandal.
Oprah Winfrey has conducted a two-part interview with James Frey, which aired on Monday and Tuesday, May 16 and 17, 2011.
Full Fathom Five
In 2009, Frey formed "Full Fathom Five," a young adult novel publishing company that aimed to create highly commercial, high concept novels like TwilightTwilight (novel)
Twilight is a young-adult vampire-romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer. It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire,...
. In November 2010, controversy arose when an MFA student who had been in talks to create content for the company released her extremely limiting contract online. The contract allows Frey license to remove an author from a project at any time, does not require him to give the author credit for their work, and only pays a standard advance of $250. A New York Magazine article entitled, "James Frey's Fiction Factory," gave more details about the company, including information about the highly successful "Lorien Legacies" series, a collaboration between author Jobie Hughes
Jobie Hughes
Jobie Hughes is an American writer and the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of I Am Number Four and The Power of Six, which were collaborations with writer James Frey. Both of the novels, published by HarperCollins under pseudonym Pittacus Lore, reached #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers...
and Frey. The article details how Frey removed Hughes from the project, allegedly during a screaming match between the two authors. In the article, Frey is accused of abusing and using MFA students as cheap labor to churn out commercial young adult books.
Lawsuit settlement
On November 2, 2007, the Associated Press published a story about a judgment in favor of readers who felt deceived by Frey's claims of A Million Little Pieces being a memoir. Although the publisher, Random House, had set aside $2.35 million for lawsuits, only 1,729 readers came forward to receive a refund for the book. The refund offer was extended to anyone who had purchased the book prior to Frey disclosing the falsehoods therein. With the claimants that received refunds, that total only came to $27,348. Approximately $1.3 million will be spent in legal fees, distribution of the legal notice, and charitable donations to three charities. The publisher also agreed to provide a disclosure at the beginning of the book, citing the somewhat fictitious nature of the text.Current work
In late 2007, Frey signed a new three-book, seven figure deal with Harper Collins to release his novel, Bright Shiny Morning, which was published May 13, 2008. Bright Shiny MorningBright Shiny Morning
Bright Shiny Morning is a novel written by James Frey, published in 2008. Set in Los Angeles, it follows the lives of several characters: a married couple, both celebrities, named Amberton and Casey; a young couple, Maddie and Dylan; a Mexican-American maid named Esperanza; a homeless man of...
, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, and has received mixed reviews. The New York Timess Janet Maslin, who had previously been one of Frey's detractors, gave the book a rave review. Michelle Green of People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine gave the novel an extremely positive review, calling Frey a "wildly talented storyteller", commenting that the novel is "so powerful it makes one wonder why he ever detoured into nonfiction." In contrast, David L. Ulin of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called the novel "One of the worst I've ever read." The New Yorker review described the novel as "banal." On August 2, 2008, the Guardian UK says "Irvine Welsh is entranced by James Frey's tale of redemption – 'the literary comeback of the decade'. James Frey is probably one of the finest and most important writers to have emerged in recent years." The first epigraph states: "Nothing in this book should be considered accurate or reliable."
In December 2008, Frey said he is working on an outline for a new novel, which he would depict as "the last book of the Bible", titled Illumination. He would show Jesus resurrected in New York City, living among prostitutes and the flotsam of the city. It is called The Final Testament of the Holy Bible
The Final Testament of the Holy Bible
The Final Testament of the Holy Bible is a novel written by James Frey, published by Gagosian Gallery in 2011.- Reception :Michael Lindgren of the Washington Post gave the book a generally positive review, calling it a "strong and absorbing piece of writing" that "moves to its own inner spirit,"...
and the Gagosian Gallery announced the book would have a limited U.S. print run of 10,000 slipcased leatherette copies, as well as 1,000 collector's editions signed and numbered by the author. In the end, it is being published in the UK and was released on Good Friday, April 22, 2011. He is self-publishing e-editions of the book.
On August 19, 2010 the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
's Page Six reported that Frey has teamed up with executive producers Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
and Steve Levinson to write the pilot for a one hour drama for HBO that will focus on a behind-the-scenes look into the porn industry in LA. Frey states the show as being "a sprawling epic about the porn business in LA. We're going to tell the type of stories no one else has told before, and go places no one has gone before."
External links
- James Frey's Website and Blog
- Theodora & Callum Interview
- New York Times Review of Bright Shiny Morning
- Oprah Winfrey link
- Transcript of January 11, 2006 interview with Larry King regarding the controversy over A Million Little Pieces
- Full transcript of Oprah/Frey interview held after controversy became public. Retrieved on 16-12-2009.
- Oprah vs. James Frey: The Sequel. Retrieved on 07-30-2007.
- James Frey on Bright Shiny Morning (La Clé des langues)
- James Frey on Oprah May 16, 2011