The article presents an analysis of autobiographical elements in the plot of Dmitry Shevarov's book of literary portraits “Kind Faces”. Autobiography is considered as a system-forming principle of the construction of the work, which allows the author to position himself as a hero leading the narrative. Thus, the author and the characters of the book become equivalent participants in the narrative. The article also analyzes the ways of the author's presence (including the facts of his biography) in the text.