Parks and RecWriter Aisha Muharrar — and the Woman Behind Leslie Knope! — Reveals the Cover for Her Debut Novel (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Aisha Muharrar and her debut novel, ‘Loved One’.Photo:Tracy Nguyen, Viking

Tracy Nguyen, Viking

PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the cover of Muharrar’s upcoming novel,Loved One, set to release on Aug. 12, 2025 through Viking.

Muharrar considers her novel to fit into a genre she calls “the relationship post-mortem,” which she describes as, “the kind of story where someone’s reevaluating a defining relationship, whether it be a romance, a friendship or something in-between.”

Viking

“I love a ‘Wait, where exactly did we go wrong?’ narrative,” the author tells PEOPLE. “You’re recalling everything, hoping that once it’s all laid out, you’ll be able to understand — not just the relationship, but yourself too. And with Julia, it’s these two relationships, one with Gabe, and one with Elizabeth, and how all three of them are intertwined.”

“It reminds me of a Dutch still-life, that end-of-the-party feel, but the colors are bright and welcoming, which fits the tone of how the story is told,” she shares.

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The author worked onParks and Recreationfor six seasons in a variety of roles, including as main writer and co-executive producer. She was integral to the development of Poehler’s lead character Leslie Knope and also made a cameo appearance in Season 6’s “The Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic.“Loved Onewill be published on Aug. 12, 2025 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com