Amy Shearn is an American novelist best known for her literary fiction. She is the author of How Far Is the Ocean from Here (2008), The Mermaid of Brooklyn (2013), Unseen City (2020), Dear Edna Sloane (2024), and Animal Instinct (2025). Her novel Unseen City received the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards’ Gold Medal in Literary Fiction.
Amy Shearn was born in Evanston, Illinois. She began writing in childhood and lived in New Mexico, Chicago, and Iowa before earning an MFA from the University of Minnesota. In 2005, she moved to New York City, where she has lived since.
Amy has worked as a ghost writer and editor. She has taught at NYU, Sackett Street Writers Workshop, Gotham Writers Workshops, Catapult, Story Studio Chicago, The Resort LIC, and the Yale Writers' Workshop. She is a cofounder of Writing Co-Lab, an experimental cooperative school for writers.
Her first novel, How Far Is the Ocean from Here (2008), was published by Crown Books. Charles Baxter described it as "a hugely auspicious debut." The book was highlighted as a notable debut by Poets & Writers and chosen as a hot summer read by the Chicago Tribune.
Her second novel, The Mermaid of Brooklyn (2013), was published by Touchstone Books. Target's Discover New Writers program selected it, chosen as a Hudson News Summer Reads pick, and later published in the United Kingdom by Pan Macmillan.
Red Hen Press published Unseen City in 2020. It was released as an audiobook by Dreamscape Media, chosen as The Nervous Breakdown’s September Book Club pick, translated into Russian, and awarded the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards’ Gold Medal in Literary Fiction.
Dear Edna Sloane (2024) was named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Write or Die and Lilith Magazine. Kirkus Reviews described it as "charming," "funny," and "smartly written."
Her most recent novel, Animal Instinct (2025), was published by Putnam. It was listed as a most anticipated book by Publishers’ Marketplace, Oprah Daily LGBTQ Reads, Autostraddle, and other outlets. Vulture, The Cut, Book Riot, LitHub, and Bookshop.org also recommended it. Publishers Weekly praised the book in a starred review as "delightful and hilarious."
Shearn’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, O: The Oprah Magazine, Literary Hub, and other publications. She has received a Promise Award from the Sustainable Arts Foundation and has been awarded several residencies.
Amy Shearn lives in Brooklyn with her daughter and son.
Photo credits: Sylvie Rosokoff
Amy Shearn was born in Evanston, Illinois. She began writing in childhood and lived in New Mexico, Chicago, and Iowa before earning an MFA from the University of Minnesota. In 2005, she moved to New York City, where she has lived since.
Amy has worked as a ghost writer and editor. She has taught at NYU, Sackett Street Writers Workshop, Gotham Writers Workshops, Catapult, Story Studio Chicago, The Resort LIC, and the Yale Writers' Workshop. She is a cofounder of Writing Co-Lab, an experimental cooperative school for writers.
Her first novel, How Far Is the Ocean from Here (2008), was published by Crown Books. Charles Baxter described it as "a hugely auspicious debut." The book was highlighted as a notable debut by Poets & Writers and chosen as a hot summer read by the Chicago Tribune.
Her second novel, The Mermaid of Brooklyn (2013), was published by Touchstone Books. Target's Discover New Writers program selected it, chosen as a Hudson News Summer Reads pick, and later published in the United Kingdom by Pan Macmillan.
Red Hen Press published Unseen City in 2020. It was released as an audiobook by Dreamscape Media, chosen as The Nervous Breakdown’s September Book Club pick, translated into Russian, and awarded the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards’ Gold Medal in Literary Fiction.
Dear Edna Sloane (2024) was named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Write or Die and Lilith Magazine. Kirkus Reviews described it as "charming," "funny," and "smartly written."
Her most recent novel, Animal Instinct (2025), was published by Putnam. It was listed as a most anticipated book by Publishers’ Marketplace, Oprah Daily LGBTQ Reads, Autostraddle, and other outlets. Vulture, The Cut, Book Riot, LitHub, and Bookshop.org also recommended it. Publishers Weekly praised the book in a starred review as "delightful and hilarious."
Shearn’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, O: The Oprah Magazine, Literary Hub, and other publications. She has received a Promise Award from the Sustainable Arts Foundation and has been awarded several residencies.
Amy Shearn lives in Brooklyn with her daughter and son.
Photo credits: Sylvie Rosokoff
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