Million Little Pieces May Cost Publishers Millions in Refunds

James Frey, the discredited author of the fake memoir A Million Little Pieces, has another bizarre tale to add to his next volume. Readers who bought his book under the impression that it might be a true story are to be offered a full refund.

Under an agreement reached between Frey's publisher, Random House, and a group of readers who sued claiming they were defrauded, the publishing house will pay out a total of up to $2.35m (£1.25m).

But in the spirit of all good literary mysteries, there is a twist. Well, several.

Only those readers who bought the book before January 26, the date on which Frey and Random House admitted that parts of the work had been fabricated, will be eligible for a refund.

The total payout includes legal fees for the 12 plaintiffs from across the US who brought the case, as well as a donation to charity. And for the disgruntled readers it will not be simply a case of returning a receipt. The publisher wants to see hard evidence.

In the case of those who bought the US hardback edition for $23.95, readers must return both the receipt and page 163 of the book. Paperback readers must send in the front cover of the book to earn their $14.95 refund, while buyers of the audio book, which cost $34.95, must send in some of the packaging.

It is unclear whether the reported agreement for a refund will affect British buyers of the work, which was published in the UK by John Murray Books, an imprint of Hodder Headline, at a price of £7.99.

Some readers will doubtless weigh the benefits of vandalising the book to win a refund of the purchase price against the souvenir value of an original copy of the fake memoir.

Subsequent copies of the book, which was not withdrawn by the publisher, include an author's note acknowledging that much of it was baloney. "I embellished many details about my past experiences and altered others in order to serve what I felt was the greater purpose of the book," the author's note reads. "I wanted the stories in the book to ebb and flow, to have dramatic arcs, to have the tension that all great stories require. I altered events and details all the way through."

A Million Little Pieces, first published in 2004, purports to tell the story of Frey's struggle with drug addiction. It came to prominence after it was chosen by the television personality Oprah Winfrey as one of the books of the month for her influential book club. It subsequently rose to the top of the bestseller lists in the US.

But Winfrey turned on Frey - notably during an appearance on her programme - after it emerged that he had fabricated parts of his story. His claim to have read War and Peace while serving a jail term appeared doubtful after it was revealed that he had been detained for just a few hours.

Nevertheless, both his UK and his US publishers continue to promote A Million Little Pieces. The website for Random House features glowing testimonials about the book, including a quote from the Boston Globe describing it as "the most lacerating tale of drug addiction since William Burroughs' Junky". The website of John Murray Books describes the book as "an uncommonly genuine account". The British publisher was unavailable for comment last night.