Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Miranda Shulman!
Writes:
Twisty literary fiction! HARMLESS follows three old friends who reunite after years of estrangement and chaotically decide to pursue their childhood dream of opening a dog kennel together after the death of someone they loved very much (though none of them particularly care about dogs as adults).
About:
A native of Park Slope, Brooklyn (where HARMLESS is set), Miranda enjoys long walks through Prospect Park followed by an eggplant parmesan dinner at Pizza Plus. She loves exploring unhinged, self-destructive female characters and stories with bite, heat, and edge. A few of her favorites are REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier, BUNNY by Monda Awad, and MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite, as well as the short story THE YELLOW WALLPAPER by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which astounded her the first time she read it in school.
What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match:
We’ll be great together if you like a pacy, character driven novel; if you pout and place a hand over your heart when you pass an adorable dog on the street; if you’ll always pick Brooklyn over Manhattan; if you have strong ties to your childhood friend group; if you think about the past a lot; if you live in a city but often find yourself craving a tranquil weekend in the countryside. Extra points if you love olives, though this is not a requirement.
What to expect if we’re compatible:
• Complicated friendship dynamics
• Complicated mother-daughter dynamics
• Dysfunctional romantic relationships
• Satire
• Quirky, offbeat characters
• Unrequited longing
• Lust
• Nostalgia
• Loving mockery of Park Slope, Brooklyn
• The occasional, heartfelt Instagram post or technologically inept TikTok video in which I tell you about my process, my book, or read aloud from it.
Narrator: Helen Laser
A twisty novel of sisterhood, friendship, and obsession that asks: Can we ever really outrun what haunts us most?
Two years ago, Bea’s life was upended when her beloved twin sister died. Audrey was captivating, an extrovert, their mother’s golden child. Bea was “different,” too intense, and chronically lonely.
Now, in her late twenties, Bea is back home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, her spirits finally buoyed by her plan to start a dog kennel. Inspired by the childhood dream she once shared with Audrey and old, now-estranged friends Tatum and Layla, she’s sure this will be the perfect ode to her sister’s memory.
But as they reintegrate into one another’s lives, Audrey’s absence is keenly felt by all. Soon, simmering tensions and attractions emerge, and a sinister darkness breaks through to the surface. What do they really want? What happens when old secrets come to light? And when is it best to bury a dream, or a cherished friendship?
Romance | Fiction Literary | Coming of Age [ Dutton, On Sale: April 14, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9798217046065 / eISBN: 9798217046072 ]
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Miranda is a graduate of Bard College and an alum of BookEnds, a fellowship supported by Stony Brook University. There, she studied with Karen Bender, Susan Merrell, and Meg Wolitzer. Though she identifies as a dog person, she shares two cats, Minnow and Squid, with her boyfriend, Charlie.
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