How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is a 2018 essay collection by American writer Alexander Chee, published by Mariner Books.

The essays address a wide variety of topics and experiences, such as Chee's time at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, working for the William F. Buckley Jr., and learning from Annie Dillard.

The last essay, "On Becoming an American Writer", was excerpted in The Paris Review shortly after the book's release and was derived from an email Chee wrote to his students in wake of the Iraq War.

[6] Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, citing Chee's "marvelously oblique style as an essayist".

[8] The Rumpus found the essay collection moving, a reminder of "why we write, but also, why we read, even in these times of never ending distress.