James Frey, the author who admitted he fabricated large portions of his best-selling 2003 memoir, has just received a second literary chance from publisher HarperCollins.

HarperCollins, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., announced Wednesday that it would publish a new novel by shamed writer James Frey. Titled “Bright Shiny Morning,” the work will be released in summer 2008. The publisher offered no further details.

“James Frey is an immensely talented writer who has written a truly extraordinary and original novel, one of great breadth and ambition,” Jonathan Burnham, HarperCollins senior vice president and publisher, said in a statement.

Frey’s 2003 memoir “A Million Little Pieces” was published by Nan Talese/Doubleday. It became a great success for its 38-year-old author as a long-running New York Times #1 bestseller.

The book, chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her reading club, came to the attention of The Smoking Gun website, who revealed in January 2006 that some of the events within its pages were fabricated.

“A Million Little Pieces” was the biggest selling nonfiction book in the United States in 2005 and allegedly an authentic account of real-life experiences. While initially claiming that it is habitual for an author to embellish some of a memoir’s details for literary effect, Frey eventually admitted he had made up some portions of the book.

For example, the three months he wrote he spent in jail had actually been a few hours.

In the end, Doubleday offered refunds to readers who felt they had been tricked into buying a book they thought was a memoir. Over 4.5 million copies have been sold to day.

Before being exposed in 2006 (and publicly shamed by Oprah on her show), Frey published a second book, titled “My Friend Leonard,” which continued the story told in “A Million Little Pieces.” Before that, Frey was a screenwriter.

The New York Times, somewhat skeptical as to James Frey’s credibility as an author, quotes his former publisher, Nan A. Talese as she says, “I would have loved to see it [“Bright Shiny Morning”] but I’m very glad that James has happily landed.”

She ended the collaboration with the author after the fiction in his non-fiction was revealed.

Burnham himself says the new book “is a very, very good work of fiction and it very much stands up on its own,” emphasizing that the past should not be dug up again.