coming september 2026
THE HAPPINESS ENGINE
A Novel by Anastasia Shevchenko
What if happiness could be guaranteed — but freedom was the price?
In near-future Berlin, Zoe Malkovich has built the life she was supposed to want: a successful career at one of Europe's most ambitious tech companies, a celebrated artist for a husband, and a place in the city's glittering creative elite.
Just as GAIETY’s newest invention promises what humanity has always sought—happiness on demand—Zoe’s carefully constructed life begins to unravel. The harder she has worked to become the right person and build the right life, the further she has drifted from herself.
Now, Zoe must decide what kind of life is worth living, what she must let go of, and what is worth fighting for.
THE HAPPINESS ENGINE explores what we gain and what we lose in the pursuit of the perfect life. At its heart, it is a story about freedom, authenticity, and the courage to choose one’s own path.
About anastasia
Anastasia Shevchenko is a Ukrainian-Canadian-German writer based in Berlin.
Her work explores the systems we create in pursuit of better lives — and what those systems reveal about freedom, identity, ambition and our complicated relationship with happiness.
Before turning to fiction, she worked across culture, wellness, education and entrepreneurship, experiences that continue to shape the worlds and questions she writes about.
THE HAPPINESS ENGINE is her debut novel.