More than 1,700 people who asked to be reimbursed for buying James Frey's A Million Little Pieces will be getting a small piece of a settlement recently approved by a judge in Manhattan.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell approved a deal late Friday, which offered a refund to anyone who bought the book based on its labelling as a memoir before Frey acknowledged he had fabricated parts of the book.

James Frey, author of 'A Million Little Pieces,' has admitted he fabricated parts of his book. His new novel is due out next summer.
(Gino Domenico/Associated Press)

It took more than a year to finalize the details of the settlement, which would reimburse the full amount of the book's suggested retail price.

Evan Smith, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, said: "I … think publishers will think twice before labeling their book a memoir."

The 2003 book became a best seller after talk show host Oprah Winfrey chose it for her book club.  A Million Little Pieces chronicles Frey's downward spiral at the age of 23 into alcoholic and drug abuse and how he copes with rehabilitation.

The book earned Frey $4.4 million US — according to his lawyer — but in January 2006, the Web site thesmokinggun.com revealed that the memoir included many falsifications.

The writer and his publisher then acknowledged that Frey had made up parts of the book. In the uproar, the author appeared on Winfrey's show to apologize and several readers launched lawsuits, which were eventually consolidated.

Random House set aside $2.35 million to cover the costs of the court case and settlement. 

The publisher will use some of that money to pay the cost of legal fees and publicizing the settlement.

Random House also agreed as part of the settlement to include a warning in the book that not all portions of the story are accurate.

An author's note has already been included in copies of the book published since Frey's admission. 

In the note, Frey explains why he twisted the truth: "I wanted the stories in the book to ebb and flow, to have dramatic arcs, to have the tension that all great stories require."

The settlement also calls for roughly $180,000 US to be divided among three charities: the American Red Cross, the Hazelden addiction treatment center and First Book, a nonprofit that helps children from poor families to read and write.

The 38-year-old author is working on a new novel, Bright Shiny Morning, expected to be released in the summer of 2008.

With files from the Associated Press