But after the book's inaccuracies were exposed, Ms. Winfrey angrily grilled Mr. Frey on national television. He was apologetic and his publisher added a disclaimer to later editions of the book in which the author acknowledged embellishing his story.

Mr. Frey's memoir touched off a broader debate about the blurring of lines between works of fiction and nonfiction, particularly in the field of memoir-writing. It also called into question how much responsibility publishers have for assuring that their nonfiction titles are factually correct.

HarperCollins Publishers says that it will release Mr. Frey's "Bright Shiny Morning," a novel set in Southern California, in the summer of 2008 through its Harper imprint. "There will be a lively media response to the book, but we're publishing it because it is an extraordinary piece of work," said Jonathan Burnham, publisher of the Harper imprint. "He has a huge number of fans. They will come readily and eagerly to this novel, which is emotionally powerful."