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Cast member James Franco poses at the premiere of ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California July 28, 2011. The movie opens in the U.S. on August 5. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Cast member James Franco poses at the premiere of ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California July 28, 2011. The movie opens in the U.S. on August 5.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

NEW YORK | Wed Jan 4, 2012 2:58pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After receiving tepid reviews for his first book of fictional short stories, actor James Franco has sold his debut novel to Amazon Publishing, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The novel is titled "Actors Anonymous" and will be published in 2013. The spokeswoman for Amazon declined to say how much money the book deal was worth and whether the novel would be published in e-book as well as print form.

Franco's collection of short stories "Palo Alto," released last year, received a mixed response by reviewers with some commenting it lacked insight and depth.

Other critics said that while the 33-year-old, Oscar-nominated actor is yet to match the standard of his work in films such as "Milk" and "127 Hours," it was a promising literary debut.

Franco has earned recognition not only for acting, but also for branching into unexpected career terrain including directing a documentary and short films, creating multimedia, dance theater projects and curating art exhibits while continuing to study at various U.S. universities.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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Comments (1)
karojen wrote:
Go Franco!! I greatly admire his intelligence and his ecletic tastes and talents. I’d rather read a good book than watch tv anytime. I hope he gets better and better and be able to watch his novels be made into movies!! Maybe he could produce and direct!! Anyone who puts him down is just plain envious as far as I’m concerned.

Jan 04, 2012 5:06pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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