Penguin had sued Brinkley, a history teacher at Houston's Rice University, because he failed to finish the book in time to publish it this month on the 50th anniversary of Kerouac's classic novel, "On the Road."

Brinkley, reached Friday in New Orleans, said he and Kerouac's estate, which gave him access to the writer's papers, had divided the $200,000 advance evenly. He said the estate's executor, John Sampas, has agreed to return its half as well.

George Tobia, lawyer for Brinkley and the Kerouac estate, said he spoke to Penguin's lawyer, Alex Gigante, and the dispute was resolved.

Penguin issued a statement Friday saying that since suing Brinkley two days earlier to recover the advance, both sides have "reached a tentative settlement in principle, which they hope to finalize shortly."

The publisher said it contracted with Brinkley in 1998 for the biography but he failed to deliver it by the final deadline of June 30, 2006.

"They wanted to bring it out in time for the 50th anniversary of 'On the Road,' which was this month," Brinkley said. "When I didn't meet that (deadline), they weren't interested." He said he is taking the book to a different publisher.

Brinkley, 46, lived in New Orleans and taught at Tulane University until Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. He now lives in Houston and Austin, Texas, with his wife and three young children.

He said disruptions by the hurricane, and his wish to do right by the Kerouac material, were the main reasons he failed to finish the biography.

A prolific writer whose subjects have included John Kerry, Dean Acheson, Jimmy Carter, Henry Ford and Ronald Reagan, Brinkley in 2006 wrote "The Great Deluge," a 700-page plus book about Hurricane Katrina. He also edited a volume of Kerouac's work published in September by the Library of America, which is distributed by Penguin.