We wanted to put across a strong message to potential Frey readers – to make them see that this was something a bit different – a powerful work of fiction from the author of the controversial A Million Little Pieces. We wanted to say that James Frey is back, he’s unrepentant, and he’s got something rather exciting up his sleeve.

The disclaimer from the beginning of the book seemed to sum up our message in the most concise way. It gave us the opportunity to turn the controversy on its head, use it to our advantage, and have a bit of a laugh while we were at it.
… and it fills up a whole side of our 190 x 60mm book mark with confident, eye catching letters. Perfect.

The other side was easy; two striking cover images and a great quote from the Evening Standard – with a swear word and everything.
Our little book mark was ready to hit the shops!

Sophie Arnold, Sales & Marketing Manager, John Murray

My housemate works for a publishing company. This means 5 nights out of 7 she returns from work describing the latest exciting plot line or unexpected twist from her favourite up and coming book… I do try and listen but the information just seems to seep out and away before I’ve had chance to process it. I think I may just be a bad housemate.

Anyway, that’s how a copy of A Million Little Pieces ended up lying on our coffee table one morning. I didn’t know anything about the book (although I’m sure I had been well informed) so I picked it up with no preconceptions or real idea of it’s content.

I was hooked straight away by the writing style, the content and the obviously the story. A few of my other housemates had read the book around the same time so, being the highly intellectual beings we are, conversations/debates/arguments often came up about the story. I guess we all had fairly strong opinions about the book once the Oprah controversy occurred. I personally don’t think it taints the book as much as it has been suggested- it’s a brilliant, engrossing read and it allowed me the escapism that every book should.

When the opportunity came up to take part in the publisher’s discussion group about the books I jumped at the chance.

The idea was to discuss A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard in a concise and intelligent manner whilst being recorded for a John Murray promotional video. I’m not sure whether I was particularly concise or insightful but some of the other participants had great points, so we all just jumped in and chatted away. The fact we were being filmed throughout the duration didn’t seem to put anyone off, in fact everyone contributed evenly to the discussion and it remained quite a light hearted debate. The evening actually lasted a while longer than anticipated but I don’t think anyone was bothered by this, we all got so involved in the discussion (and beverages!) the time flew by.

Anyway, James Frey is a great contemporary author and if you haven’t already checked out his work you should.

James Weaver

I had prepared myself to be up to my arms in photocopying, running errands and even went so far as to prescribe myself the label of ‘Caroline a.k.a. dogsbody’. What I did not expect was to be attending meetings, copy editing, proof-reading, and certainly not this latest venture: my chance to help organise and attend a book signing for James Frey’s new book Bright Shiny Morning. I would like to say I’m of those girls that nods at the task, flicks her hair, taking everything coolly in her stride but I am, most regrettably and categorically, not of that demeanour. Seconds after leaving the office for the day I’ll be on my mobile gloating, yes gloating, about my involvement with James Frey. Ok, so he doesn’t know my name but I’ve certainly come across his many times.

One of my many roles is to send out any newspaper clippings to authors. Rifling through the cut-outs: James Frey; James Frey; James Frey…get the idea. Critics have described his novel as ‘immaculately written’, ‘exasperating but engrossing’ and ‘a riveting read’. His popularity at the moment is inspiring and without a doubt well earned. Bright Shiny Morning has hit the literary world hard and, from magazine to national reviews, everyone wants the chance to pass comment on him. Next week, Frey will be here in the John Murray office to meet, greet and sign books for the residents of 338 Euston Road and I shall get to meet the man himself!

Caroline Lotinga, John Murray Work Experience

James has such an eye for art and a strong visual sense that we spend some time discussing cover approaches (the iconic and timeless Million Little Pieces cover came from his mentioning Damien Hirst, and the Bright Shiny Morning one from a conversation about Tracey Emin); then it’s on to marketing and publicity plans and all that goes with publishing such a major author. He did look a bit surprised to be taken to the Hay Festival for his first book, though….

Roland Philipps, John Murray MD and James’ Editor

So, one fairly blustery day in March, we did just that. James Frey was over for his first publicity trip and so while he was still recovering from jetlag, we scouted our building for any non-corporate location for filming in our office at 338 Euston Rd - a feat to say the least! But, one of the blessings of working in a tower block is the view and so in the end we settled on the balcony on the 16th floor of our building where you can see right across London - the London Eye, Battersea Power Station et al.

As Bright Shiny Morning revolves so tightly around the city life of Los Angeles, we wanted to incorporate the theme of ‘the city’ into our film. To further this, we also planned to head into Soho after filming the interview to get the requisite ‘in the back of black taxi cab’ shot and some more footage of James walking the streets. (Unfortunately me and my boss did not walk far enough behind him and so embarrassingly you can see us stalking behind James but I think it’s one of those things that only we notice.)

Leaning against the barrier of the balcony, battling against the wind, James Frey spoke out. As a Frey fan myself, what he said was everything I wanted to hear - he was the ‘hero’ I’d imagined, I was not disappointed. Im sure you won’t be either.

Polly Ho Yen, Publicity, Sales & Marketing Assistant

I’m kicking off with a bit about the cover. Sara Marafini, our Art Director, commissioned the brilliant Jon Gray to design it, with a simple brief: something cool and brash. Jon has produced some amazing covers including Everything is Illuminated and A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, and we reckon this has classic written all over it too. He hired The Neon Sign Store in east London to make a … well, a neon sign:

… and photographed it for the book jacket. The result is highly colourful, but in a kind of sinister, almost seedy way which is totally in tune with the feel of the book. Sort of explosive and unsettling at the same time.

In May it was featured on the The Book Design Review blog, which regularly features comparisons between UK and US jackets. Click here to see the US version - a very different look, by celebrated artist Richard Prince

Let us know what you think …

James Spackman, Sales & Marketing Director, John Murray

“(James Frey) became a furiously good storyteller … He stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park” - Janet Maslin, New York Times

“If, despite the scandal, you loved A Million Little Pieces, you might want to devour Bright Shiny Morning. Like its author, it can be called many things, but never boring. Or timid.” - Deidre Donahue, USA Today

“A sprawling ambitious novel about Los Angelos, written with all the broad-stroke energy that was so irresistable to readers in A Million Little Pieces. By turns satirical, tense and surprisingly touching, it is a portrait of a city onto which so many millions have projected so many dreams. Compelling, cinematic.” - Vanity Fair

“Relentlessly entertaining … It’s reminiscent of one of Tom Wolfe’s billion-footed beasts” - Lev Grossman, Time

New York Times

Time Magazine