Has the memoir killed fiction? Has fiction killed the memoir? I give up. I give the fuck up. You fucking arts journalists. Isn’t there a convention you could sort this out at? Cause I’d like fire a few Belfast-cocktails in there once you’re all in.

With publication in everyone’s grasp, memoir becomes the great equalizer.

Americans like ” ‘pulled up by your bootstraps’ stories in which odds or adversities are overcome,” says Lexy Bloom, a senior editor at Vintage and Anchor Books. “That’s what makes memoir so successful. We want hope and redemption.”

At the same time, we expect intimate revelations from writers – because we certainly don’t censor ourselves. We share our most intimate secrets with total strangers on planes and trains.

Memoir connects us with others and the past. And when done right (with truth) it satisfies our craving for authenticity. “Memoir is to fiction as photography is to painting,” Yagoda says.

Fucking idiots.