Background

James Christopher Frey was born on September 12, 1969, in Cleveland.

Education

James received his general education from the St. Joseph High School, St. Joseph, Michigan from which he graduated in 1988. In 1992, James Frey graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio with a major in history.

Career

James Frey moved to Los Angeles in the mid-90s where he worked as a screenwriter. 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. In 2003 he released his debut book "A Million Little Pieces," which was made into a film by director Sam Taylor-Johnson.

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 authenticity of the book stating much of the details in the book 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 the fact that Doubleday failed to carry out an authenticity check of the memoir before publicizing it. The consequences of the scandal led to agreeing that all future editions of the book would include notes from the author and publisher. Frey was also dropped by his literary agent due to which he lost a two-book seven-figure deal. In 2006, Frey and the publishers Random House agreed on the legal settlement that readers who felt they had been misled by the book would be offered a refund.

My Friend Leonard came out in 2005. This book continued from where A Million Pieces left off. The book revolved around the relationship between father and son Frey and his friend Leonard shared. This book was published by Riverhead.

In 2009 Frey founded the publishing company Full Fathom Five through which he wrote and released the Lorien Legacies series under the pseudonym Pittacus Lore as well as the YA series Endgame. In addition to writing his own books, James Frey also collaborated with John Hughes on I am Number Four and The Power of Six in 2010. Also, Frey went on to write The Final Testament of the Holy Bible (2011) and the upcoming Katerina (2018).

Currently, he resides in New York City and continues to write.

Achievements

• One of Frey’s major achievements was in his novel titled My Friend Leonard which became a bestseller and once again the editors at Amazon.com selected it as their no.5 favorite book of the year. James Frey’s next book, Bright Shiny Morning was written in 2007 and published in 2008 by HarperCollins. With a huge fan following, Frey’s books have been published in 31 languages all over the globe.

Works

More photos

• audiobook

  • Bright Shiny Morning

    (A bright, ambitious young Mexican-American woman who allo...)

    2009
  • Return to Zero

    (The Lorien Legacies Reborn Series, book 3)

    2019

• book

  • Generation One

    (The war may be over but for the next generation, the batt...)

    2017
  • The Rise of Nine

    (The Mogadorians who destroyed the planet Lorien continue ...)

    2013
  • My Friend Leonard

    (The son is, of course, James, damaged perhaps beyond repa...)

    2005
  • The Final Testament of the Holy Bible

    (For two thousand years people have spent their lives wait...)

    2011
  • The Fall of Five

    (After facing off with the Mogadorian ruler and almost bei...)

    2014
  • Endgame: The Calling

    (Sarah Alopay stands at her graduation ceremony - class va...)

    2014
  • The Power of Six

    (In the beginning, nine aliens left their home planet Lori...)

    2011
  • I Am Number Four

    (John Smith seems like an ordinary teenager, living a norm...)

    2011
  • United as One

    (The Garde didn’t start this war, but they’ll do whatever ...)

    2017
  • The Fate of Ten

    (For years the Garde have fought the Mogadorians in secret...)

    2016
  • A Million Little Pieces

    (A story of drug and alcohol abuse and rehabilitation as i...)

    2004
  • Katerina

    (Love and sex and dreams, art and drugs and the madness of...)

    2018
  • Endgame: Rules of the Game

    (The explosive final novel in the Endgame trilogy. Two key...)

    2016
  • The Revenge of Seven

    (The Garde have suffered an unbearable loss. Number Five h...)

    2015
  • Endgame: Sky Key

    (The hunt for Sky Key has begun. Queens, New York. Aisling...)

    2015

Views

Quotations: "You talk about facts. I talk about truth."

Personality

Frey's description by Decca Aitkenhead, the journalist of The Gurdian: "Everything about Frey, 41, is a studied disavowal of a conventional author promoting his work. He seldom smiles, let alone laughs, and will often answer questions with a monosyllabic yes or no, which can make him seem quite hostile – but then he will suddenly elaborate on a theme, talking very slowly in a languid, almost lisping drawl disconcertingly at odds with his intense burning stare."

In his youth, Frey suffered from the substances abuse and also dealt with alcoholism. Frey got drunk for the first time when he was 10 years old, at his suburban Cleveland home, while his parents were out one evening. By age 15, he’d tried coke, acid, and crystal meth and was dealing. And by the time he was a junior at Denison University - ”a place where wealthy white kids went to get f-ed up” - cocaine had Frey by the scruff of his neck. Two years later, in an ugly climax to a two-week bender, he fell face-first down a fire escape. Broken, ripped, and wanted in three states on possession charges, he showed up at Hazelden, a rehab center in Minnesota, with four busted teeth and a nickel-sized hole in his cheek. ”James had hit bottom, and he knew there was nowhere to go from where he was,” says his mother, Lynne. ”As determined as he was to destroy his life, he was determined to save it.” His memoir is an account of his efforts to stay sober without the help of God or any 12-step approach. ”If I can do that, I can do anything I want if I just want it badly enough,” he says. ”Whatever I do, I put my whole self into it. Like Rocky did in ‘Rocky III’ when he had to fight Clubber Lang.”

In 2006 James Frey was in the middle of a controversy after he appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show on January 26, 2006 and admitted that all of his so-called "memoir" books are largely fictitious. He lied to the editors, the readers, and Oprah Winfrey because he wanted to get more attention and better sales. The result was a huge scandal that destroyed his once-promising career as a writer.

However, Frey doesn’t come across as a guy who says outrageous things to get attention. He comes across as someone who says whatever’s on his mind, however inflammatory, for the same reason he drinks a pitcher of coffee in a sitting and stuffs his mouth with Nicorette. He just can’t help himself.

Physical Characteristics: Frey has a tattoo on his left arm that states: ”F.T.B.S.I.T.T.T.D.” Or rather: "F- the Bulls-, It’s Time to Throw Down."

Connections

James Frey married Maya R. Frey on September 1, 2001. His brother, Bob Frey, is a teacher of Social Studies-based classes at the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

Father:

Robert Frey

Mother:

Lynne Frey

Spouse:

Maya R. Frey

Brother:

Robert Frey

collaborator:

John Hughes

Daughter:

Maren Frey

References

• Author James Frey Official Website