James Frey

The American writer James Christopher Frey is best known to be the author of bestsellers including A Million Little Pieces (2003), My Friend Leonard (2005), and Bright Shiny Morning (2008). Frey was subject to controversy and scandal when investigators discovered that major parts of his book, A Million Little Pieces, which was supposed to be an autobiographical account of the author’s struggle with addiction, were untrue.

In 1992, James Frey graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, after which he began his career in writing. In addition to working on several jobs in Chicago, Frey continued studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. He then moved to Los Angeles and began working as a screenwriter, director, and producer. In 1996, Frey began working on A Million Little Pieces, which he originally presented as an account of his experiences during alcohol and drug addiction treatment at a rehabilitation center in Minnesota.

Frey also wrote the screenplay for the film Kissing a Fool and Sugar: The Fall of the West, which he also directed. Both movies were produced in 1998. In April 2003, Doubleday published A Million Little Pieces. The editors at Amazon.com selected it as their favorite book of the year. The book received excellent reviews from all well-reputed newspapers, including The New Yorker.

A Million Little Pieces was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her monthly book club, making it an overnight success selling over two million copies. However, the hype led to scrutiny over its contents. In 2006, The Smoking Gun released a report against the book and James Frey. The report raised questions about the book's authenticity, stating that much of the book's details had been fabricated. At first, Frey denied all allegations, but as the accusations increased, he was forced to make a public apology on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Nan Talese from Doubleday also admitted that Doubleday failed to conduct an authenticity check of the memoir before publicizing it.