Kids getting too much attention? Publish your 'momoir'

This autumn, don't be surprised if you find hordes of tween girls huddled over the debut book by Pattie Mallette. She's not the new JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer – Mallette is, in fact, Justin Bieber's mother, and it has just been announced that in September she will publish Nowhere But Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom. Although mainly chronicling her own troubled childhood, naturally it will include details of what it's like being the mother of the most famous teenager on the planet.

When someone moves from being famous to being a global superstar, the public's thirst for intimate details of their life intensifies, hence the popularity of the "momoir". The literary equivalent of your mother getting out the embarrassing baby photos, momoirs sate fans' curiosity as well as providing mum with her own moment in the spotlight (and, presumably, a nice cash sum).

Even better if the star in question is off the rails (imagine the sales!). Britney's mother, Lynne Spears, published Through The Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World in 2008, the year after Britney shaved her head, and late last year Dina Lohan was still trying to peddle her own momoir, exposing her daughter Lindsay's "dark secrets".

The most shameless momoir must go to Nancy Dow, whose book From Mother and Daughter to Friends charted her difficult relationship with her daughter Jennifer Aniston. Not only did she get the name of her daughter's hit TV show in the title, she also reverted to her old marital name, Nancy Aniston, on the jacket sleeve. Charming.