A Million Little Pieces by James Frey is being torn to bits lately by the press. The book was released in 2003 and billed as a nonfiction account of Frey’s life. At the age of twenty three he entered rehab to get treatment for his alcohol and drug addictions. The book was quite popular and sold well at its release. Then, successful talk show host Oprah Winfrey selected the book as the next reading in her Oprah Book Club. This skyrocketed the book to number one on bestseller lists all over.

Unfortunately, a website called TheSmokingGun.com did a bit of investigation on the book’s events. They discovered that some of Frey’s “memories” may be fiction. The largest discrepancy seems to occur when Frey details his run in with the police that landed him in prison for three months. The Smoking Gun investigators only found record of a misdemeanor crime and a fine after one night in jail.

Frey appeared on The Larry King Show to defend his book, where he admitted that some of the stories might be inflated a bit for emotional effect. Winfrey, upon hearing of the scandal, also called into the show and defended her selection of the memoirs. She said that she believed in the “emotional honesty” with which Frey told his harrowing life story.

After such a fuss, A Million Little Pieces is back in the number one spot on bestseller lists, and the sequel, My Friend Leonard, is following closely behind.

Nora Roberts, an author with over 280 million books in print, has so many publications available for the public that she has now begun to stamp her books to show their authenticity. Her latest book, Red Lily, is the third in her Garden Series. If readers check the cover of the book, they will see a circular logo with the initials “NR” in the center. This is to signify that the book is in fact an authentic Nora Roberts publication and that it is in its first printing.

Why the fuss? Roberts has been one of the most successful romance authors in modern literary history. She is known among other romance writers as “The Nora.” Her style and characters are often copied. And as a brand, rather than merely an author, she must protect the name Nora Roberts just as any other brand name would. This branding of authors is most likely the biggest trend in fiction writing for the future.

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has sold like a blockbuster from day one. Published in hardback by Doubleday, the book has sold so well in the last three years that the publisher never bothered to print a paperback version. After selling nearly twenty five million copies worldwide, the book is now a film soon to be released. In addition, there is a bestselling illustrated version of the book that is in high demand.

So in anticipation of the film’s release in May of 2006, starring Tom Hanks, Doubleday is printing an enormous run of five million paperback copies of The Da Vinci Code beginning in March of 2006. There will also be a printing of the illustrated version released at the same time.

As the movie version of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes a box office splash, the fans of Lewis’ writing and life are still discontent. The book is one in a series of seven entitles The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis wrote the books with the specific intention that they should never be made into movies. He was opposed to the artificial means that would be necessary to create the characters such as the Lion. A live action film, he believed would cheapen and reduce the effectiveness of the book’s intention. However, bent on box office sales, the Hollywood live action version continues to draw audiences. The rest of the books will follow on screen over the next couple of decades.

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of books, is always drawing media attention. Her latest book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has a much darker and more deadly tone than any of the previous books. In an interview, she states that her books are basically about death.

The movie versions of the books draw controversy as well. Dark, scary, and sometimes too intense for children, some people believe that translating children’s books on screen in such a way that children cannot view them is inherently disrespectful. However, the movies and the books continue to create stunning sales numbers.