The difference between creative nonfiction and fiction is unpretentious: fiction is derived from the fabrications of an author's imagination, while non -creative fiction depends on the facts. A novelist has the freedom to create scenes that never existed, whereas a creative nonfiction author must tell a true story. However, the line between creative nonfiction and fiction, between facts and lies, has become increasingly thin as "memoir writers [have] been revealed to be frauds and fiction writers pose as memoirists in order to sell books” (Bradley 203). Recent events have revealed that authors such as James Frey and Tim Barrus have combined elements of fiction and nonfiction in their creative nonfiction books (Buck 56), further blurring this boundary. Sloppy embellishments and entire fabrications were discovered in their so-called creative nonfiction works – sparking angst within the nonfiction community (Bradley 208). Allegations arose and investigations followed, all revolving around the question: Who is to blame? As a result, the entire creative nonfiction genre received negative publicity and harsh criticism (Bradley 203). For creative nonfiction to reestablish its legitimacy and truthfulness as a genre, authors, not publishers, must be held responsible for ensuring that their creative nonfiction books are truthful. Creative nonfiction, often referred to as the "fourth genre" (Bradley 203), requires the depiction of factual events and happenings through past memories, with a literary twist. Books in this genre include memoirs, biographies and autobiographies. However, memory is malleable and fades. Therefore, authors have some leeway in this regard and being "truthful" is defined as an author remembering and describing the middle of a paper......ate. For authors to knowingly mislead readers through a creative nonfiction medium is to deprive readers of the intrinsic connection and empathy felt toward the story. The story becomes significantly less powerful and less personally important to the reader. It is then dismissed as fiction, a false fairy tale once lost to the realm of nonfiction. Authors of creative nonfiction books must then write honestly to ensure that the creative nonfiction books are truthful. This is the only practical approach to creating truly creative nonfiction books. Fact-checking is too expensive a practice when applied to the book publishing industry and avoids the inherent problem: misleading authors. For it is not the fiction itself created by these authors that is at fault, but the deception, the theft from unsuspecting readers, that created all this mess in the first place..