Nayantara Roy on "Sisters of a Halved Heart" and Complicated Sibling Relationships

Photo: Bianca Catbagan

For this week’s episode, I sit down with author and television executive Nayantara Roy to discuss her new second novel, Sisters of a Halved Heart. We go in-depth into the chaotic nature of sibling relationships, what it takes to balance high-level TV development and fiction writing, and the art of telling stories across different mediums.

IG: tararoi

Website: https://nayantararoy.com/

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Bio:

Nayantara Roy (also known as Tara Roy) is an author and television executive. By day, she serves as the Senior Vice President of Television at Sandbox Entertainment (and previously worked at Endeavor Content and AGBO), where she acquires and oversees the creative development of original scripted television series.

As an author, she wrote the highly acclaimed debut novel The Magnificent Ruins (2024), which was named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, a Washington Post Notable/Best Book, a People Magazine Best Book, and a Gold House Book Club Pick. Her second novel, Sisters of a Halved Heart, was published by Algonquin Books on June 2, 2026.

Additionally, Roy won the Rick DeMarinis Short Story Prize in 2018 for her short story “8C,” and her plays have been performed internationally, including in the UK and India. She is a 2020 alumna of the CAPE Leaders Program and a jury member for the STARZ #TakeTheLead director’s program. Born in Kolkata, India, she currently resides in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

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