Miranda Cowley Heller

Cowley Heller has had a prolific career across books, magazines, and TV.^[1] She began her career at Cosmopolitan magazine where she worked as a fiction and books editor.^[1][4][3] She spent a decade as head of drama series at HBO in the early 2000s.^[6] While at HBO, she worked on hit shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Big Love, and Deadwood.^[4][7] As a writer, she has worked both as a ghostwriter and a screenwriting editor.^[6] In 2021, she published her own debut novel, The Paper Palace.^[1]

In 1997, Cowley Heller moved to LA to begin her job at HBO.^[3] She spent nearly a decade working there as senior vice president and head of drama series.^[1][6] She began at HBO before a drama series department existed, and she led with a "writer-led" approach to TV development.^[4]

In 2021, Cowley published her debut novel, The Paper Palace.^[8][4][7] It was a #1 New York Times' Bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick, and longlisted for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction.^{[9][10][11][3]} Thirty international editions of the book have also been published.^[3]

The book rights were purchased by HBO, which has plans to develop it into a mini-series with Cowley Heller developing the screenplay.^[4]

• (2021) The Paper Palace. New York: Riverhead Books. ISBN 978-0-593-32982-5
• (2025) What the Deep Water Knows: Penguin ISBN 978-1405975261