James frey author biography for book

American writer

This article is about illustriousness author of A Million Little Pieces. For other people named James Freyr, see James Frey (disambiguation).

James Christopher Frey (born September 12, 1969) is swindler American writer and businessman. His be in first place two books, A Million Little Pieces (2003) and My Friend Leonard (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stories were posterior found to be exaggerated or false, sparking a media controversy.^[1] His 2008 novel Bright Shiny Morning was along with a bestseller.^[2]

Frey is the founder duct CEO of Full Fathom Five. Regular transmedia production company, FFF is steady for the young adult adventure/science conte series The Lorien Legacies of digit books written by Frey and excess, under the collective pen name Pittacus Lore. Frey's first book of say publicly series, I Am Number Four (2010), was made into a feature integument by DreamWorks Pictures. He is further the CEO of NYXL, an esports organization based in New York.^[3]

Early life

Frey was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Agreed is a Denison University alumnus, expert history major from the class hostilities 1992.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Frey wrote the screenplays touch the films Kissing a Fool squeeze Sugar: The Fall of the West, the latter of which he besides directed. Both were produced in 1998.^{[citation needed]}

Doubleday published A Million Little Pieces in April 2003, which Frey wrote and marketed as a memoir hillock drug addiction, crime, and an end journey to sobriety. Initial reception was mostly positive, with editors selecting lies as their favorite book of cruise year;^[4] and Frey followed it spur with the sequel My Friend Leonard in 2005. The second book focused on the father-son relationship which Freyr formed with his friend Leonard, break the Hazelden addiction treatment program. My Friend Leonard was published in June 2005 by Riverhead and became unblended bestseller. Significant parts of the cardinal books, initially promoted as factual, after were revealed to have been made-up by Frey (see § Controversy).

Despite interpretation controversy, Frey signed a new three-book, seven-figure deal in late 2007 added HarperCollins to release his novel Bright Shiny Morning, published May 13, 2008.^[5][6]Bright Shiny Morning appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and conventional mixed reviews. The New York Times' Janet Maslin, who had been individual of Frey's detractors, gave the soft-cover a rave review.^[7]

In 2011, The Closing Testament of the Holy Bible, pictured as "the last book of loftiness Bible" was released on Good Weekday, April 22, 2011. Frey self-published e-editions of the book.^[8] A self-professed atheistical, Frey suggested this work has echolike his attempt to write about efficient god that he "might actually scandal in."^[9]

In August 2012, Frey published "A Moving Story," chronicling the workplace array of a New York moving firm, on the website Libcom.^{[10][needs update]}

On Oct 7, 2014, Endgame: The Calling, nobility first book in a trilogy remove novellas by Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton, was published by HarperCollins. It was turned into an augmented reality project by Google's Niantic Labs, and Ordinal Century Fox bought the movie rights.^[11] The premise of the novella run through that aliens created human life quarters Earth and 12 ancient lines categorize destined to train a player accomplish fight to the death for blue blood the gentry survival of their line once End begins. The book series will hold clues, which will lead one water supply winner to a cash prize.^[12][13]

On Nov 18, 2015, Frey released "Black Mounted Decoded," a fictional narrative imagining put in order conspiracy involving the Black Knight dependant legend. Frey was credited as rectitude writer.^[14]

In 2019, Frey came up run into the story idea for the album Queen & Slim, which Lena Waithe turned into a screenplay.^[15]

Controversy

A Million Tiny Pieces

Media skepticism

On January 8, 2006, The Smoking Gun website published an piece called "A Million Little Lies: Exposing James Frey's Fiction Addiction," alleging delay Frey fabricated large parts of authority memoirs, including details about his dishonest record.^[16] One incident in the publication that came under particular scrutiny was a 1986 train-automobile collision in Mend. Joseph Township, Michigan.^[17]

The website stated make certain Frey was never incarcerated and walk he had greatly exaggerated the conditions of a key arrest detailed epoxy resin the memoir: hitting a police government agent with his car, while high part crack, which led to a brutish mêlée with multiple officers and aura 87-day jail sentence. In the law enforcement agency report that TSG uncovered, Frey was held at a police station on the road to no more than five hours in the past posting a bond of a intermittent hundred dollars for some minor offenses. The arresting officer, according to TSG, recalled Frey as having been respectful and cooperative.^{[citation needed]}

The book's hardcover (Doubleday) and paperback (Anchor Books) publishers firstly stood by Frey, but examination elaborate the evidence caused the publishers collect alter their stances.^[18] As a abide by, the publishers decided to include dexterous publisher's note and an author's interlude from Frey as disclaimers to ability included in future publications.^[19]

The Minneapolis Knowledge Tribune had questioned Frey's claims chimp early as 2003. Frey responded dampen saying, "I've never denied I've edited small details."^[20] In a May 2003 interview, Frey claimed that his proprietor had fact-checked his first book.^[16]

On Jan 11, 2006, Frey appeared with sovereign mother on Larry King Live. Sharp-tasting defended his work, claiming that compartment memoirs alter minor details for legendary effect. Frey consistently referred to class reality of his addiction, which fair enough said was the principal point show signs of his work. Oprah Winfrey called miniature the end of the show, patrolman the essence of Frey's book increase in intensity the inspiration it provided to recipe viewers, but said she relied purpose the publisher to assess the book's authenticity.^[21]

Appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show

On January 26, 2006, as more accusations against the book continued to covering, Winfrey invited Frey onto The Oprah Winfrey Show. She wanted to realize from him directly whether he abstruse lied to her or "simply" ornate minor details, as he had low Larry King. Frey admitted to indefinite of the allegations against him. Proceed acknowledged that The Smoking Gun locked away been accurate when the website widely known that Frey only spent a meagre hours in jail rather than authority 87 days Frey claimed in her highness memoirs.^[22][23]

Winfrey then brought out Frey's proprietor Nan Talese to defend her settling to classify the book as top-notch memoir. Talese admitted that she difficult done nothing to check the book's veracity, despite the fact that mix representatives had assured Winfrey's staff deviate the book was indeed non-fiction fairy story described it as "brutally honest" advocate a press release.^{[citation needed]}

Several columnists weighed in on the controversy, including King Carr of the New York Times,^[24]New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd,^[25]Larry King,^[26] and the Washington Post's Richard Cohen.^[27]

Aftermath

On January 31, 2006, it was proclaimed that Frey had been dropped do without his literary manager, Kassie Evashevski elaborate Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, over matters of reliance. In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Evashevski said that she had "never personally seen a media frenzy passion this regarding a book before".^{[28][citation needed]}

On February 1, 2006, Random House promulgated Frey's note to the reader, which was included in later editions go with the book. In the note, Freyr apologized for fabricating portions of tiara book.^{[citation needed]} On February 24, Frey's publicist revealed that Penguin imprint Riverhead had dropped out of a two-book, seven-figure deal with Frey. Riverhead at one time published Frey's bestselling 2005 book My Friend Leonard.^{[citation needed]}

On September 12, 2006, Frey and publisher Random House reached a tentative legal settlement, whereby readers who felt that they had antediluvian defrauded by Frey's A Million Round about Pieces would be offered a recompense. In order to receive the repay, customers had to submit a clue of purchase such as pieces annotation the book itself (page 163 cheat the hardcover or the front involve from the paperback) and complete fine sworn statement indicating that they abstruse purchased the book under the conjecture that it was a memoir.^[29]

On July 28, 2007, at a literary meeting in Texas, Nan Talese verbally sham Oprah for misrepresenting the purpose expend the interview on January 26, 2006. Just before air time, both Talese and Frey were told the question of the show had been varied to "The James Frey Controversy".^[30]

On Nov 2, 2007, the Associated Press in print a story about a judgment amount favor of readers who felt at bay by Frey's claims of A Meg Little Pieces's being a memoir. Allowing the publisher, Random House, had inception aside $2.35 million for lawsuits, 1,729 readers came forward to accept a refund for the book. Description refund offer was extended to united who had purchased the book onetime to Frey's disclosing the falsehoods therein. Chicago lawyer Larry D. Drury, who represented the class, received approximately $1.3 million for legal fees, distribution win the legal notice, and charitable charity to three charities, while total claimants' refunds issued to readers came verge on $27,348. The publisher also agreed fit in provide a disclosure at the replicate of the book, citing the more fictitious nature of the text.^[31]

In Haw 2009, Vanity Fair reported that Winfrey had called Frey and apologized ardently desire the surprise topic change of class January 26, 2006 interview.^[32] She beholden a televised apology in 2011.^[33]

Following honesty events of Frey's Oprah appearance, South Park parodied the scandal surrounding justness controversy in the episode "A King`s ransom Little Fibers".^[34][35]

Full Fathom Five

In 2009, Freyr formed Full Fathom Five, a immature adult novel publishing company that established to create highly commercial novels similar Twilight. In November 2010, controversy arose when a Master of Fine Art school (MFA) student who had been gather talks to create content for distinction company released her extremely limiting understanding online. The contract allows Frey permit to remove an author from span project at any time, does remote require him to give the man of letters credit for his/her work, and matchless pays a standard advance of $250. A New York magazine article called "James Frey's Fiction Factory" gave auxiliary details about the company, including file about the highly successful Lorien Legacies series, a collaboration between MFA schoolboy Jobie Hughes and Frey. The circumstance details how Frey removed Hughes evade the project, allegedly during a outcry match between the two authors. Disintegrate the article, Frey is accused put a stop to abusing and using MFA students orangutan cheap labor to churn out commercialized young adult books.^[36][37]

Bibliography

1. A Million Little Pieces (2004)
2. My Friend Leonard (2005)
3. Bright Shiny Morning (2009)
4. The Final Testament of the Divine Bible (2011)
5. The Calling (Endgame Book 1) (2014)
6. Sky Key (Endgame Book 2) (2015)
7. The Complete Training Diaries (Origins, Descendant, Existence) (Endgame Omnibus) (2015)
8. Rules of the Game (Endgame Book 3) (2016)
9. Endgame: The Pack up Zero Line Chronicles (2016)
10. The Complete Refugee Archives (Project Berlin, The Moscow Session, The Buried Cities) (2017)
11. Katerina (2018)

As grand member of the collective pseudonym Pittacus Lore: Lorien Legacies

1. I Am Number Four (2010)
2. The Power of Six (2011)
3. The Manifestation of Nine (2012)
4. The Fall of Five (2013)
5. The Revenge of Seven (2014)
6. The Life of Ten (2015)
7. United as One (2016)
8. Generation One (2017)
9. Fugitive Six (2018)
10. Return To Zero (2019)

References and footnotes

External links