autofiction

[aw-toh-fik-shuhn]

noun

1. a genre of novel or short story whose narrator or protagonist is understood to be the author, and which explores the author’s real-life story using the techniques and devices of fiction.

Word History and Origins

Origin of autofiction¹

First recorded in 1975–80; auto- ¹ ( def. ) + fiction ( def. )

Example Sentences

After spending two seasons scraping the bottom of the barrel, Carrie has turned her newfound status as just any average woman into a horrific stab at autofiction with her new novel, set in 1846 New York City, where she writes thinly veiled musings about her life.

From Salon

While Wallen isn’t writing autofiction, it’s hard to separate the bitter drunk of his singles from the headlines he generates.

From Salon

This month’s literature also blooms with hope, whether that’s easily spotted — as in Alison Bechdel’s witty autofiction and Ron Chernow’s biography of a great American humorist — or needs careful observation, as is the case with Yiyun Li’s reckoning with grief and Madeleine Thien’s stunning novel of ideas.

From Los Angeles Times

The show details the lead-up and sensational fallout from Truman Capote’s autofiction exposé of the gaggle of upper crust women in his social circle, which resulted in a banishment that would send “Gossip Girl” to the hospital in shock.

From Salon

Knausgaard doesn’t understand the concept of restraint: Be it in his celebrated six-volume autofiction epic “My Struggle” or this, the third volume of a series about the mysterious arrival of a new star, he aspires to pack as much as he can in one book.

From Los Angeles Times