Coming June 2, 2026
Sisters of a
Halved Heart
From the author of The Magnificent Ruins — a new novel about sisterhood, inheritance, and the secrets that bind us, forthcoming from Algonquin / Little Brown.
Coming June 2, 2026
From the author of The Magnificent Ruins — a new novel about sisterhood, inheritance, and the secrets that bind us, forthcoming from Algonquin / Little Brown.
Photo: Bianca Catbagan
Nayantara Roy is the author of The Magnificent Ruins, which was a New York Times Editor's Choice novel of 2024, an LA Times Editor's Pick, a Washington Post Best Book, a People Magazine Best Book, an Apple Books best debut, and a Hachette book club pick, amongst others. The book is currently being adapted for television by Universal Television.
Her second novel, Sisters of a Halved Heart, is forthcoming from Little, Brown on June 2nd, 2026.
In 2018, Roy won the Rick DeMarinis Short Story Award for '8C'. Her plays have been performed in the UK and India.
By day, she is a Senior Vice President of Television at Sandbox Entertainment, where she acquires and develops original scripted series. Her television career has included overseeing shows such as Normal People, Nine Perfect Strangers, Mary & George, The Hunting Wives, and Outlander, among others.
Originally from India, she lives in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, USA.
It is the summer of 2015, and Lila De is on the verge of a breakthrough in her career as an editor at a prestigious New York publishing house. But when she gets a call from her mother in India, informing her that she has inherited her family's sprawling estate, she must confront the legacy of a complicated extended family she thought she left behind 16 years ago.
Returning to Kolkata reunites Lila with her mother after a decade of estrangement — and with her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all of whom still live in the house, all of whom resent her sudden inheritance. To make matters more complex, one man follows Lila to India while another has been waiting for her return a long time.
For fans of Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes and the novels of Vikram Seth.
"The Magnificent Ruins gripped me from the first page and moved me to tears on the last. A wise, beautiful and haunting story about difficult mothers and daughters."
— Thrity Umrigar, bestselling author of Honor"Roy's roomy novel draws us deep into the way family history is inscribed on buildings… I'm smitten."
— Ron Charles, Washington Post"So many of Roy's pages are a love letter to Kolkata… her writing truly shines."
— New York Times Book Review"Roy's powerhouse debut centers on a fabulous decaying mansion… If you love a family epic set in India, this one's for you."
— People, Best Books of November 2024Nayantara Roy's highly anticipated second novel follows two estranged sisters reunited by circumstance, forced to confront the fractures of their shared past and the secrets that split them apart.
From the author of The Magnificent Ruins — a New York Times Editor's Choice, Washington Post Best Book, and People Magazine Best Book of 2024.
Available June 2, 2026 from Algonquin Books / Little Brown.
"Lush, heady, sophisticated, suffused with atmospheric detail that spans continents, Nayantara Roy's novel is so riveting the reader will want to keep turning the pages, but so beautifully written it encourages lingering, savoring Roy's elegant prose. The subject here is love in all its forms: filial, sisterly, thwarted, abiding, romantic, miraculous, and always, always surprising. I loved this book."
— Dani Shapiro, author of Signal Fires"Witty, sexy, dark, and messy, Sisters of a Halved Heart is a novel of passion, renewal, and family, both related and chosen. It is a story for people in search of love and belonging—a story for all of us."
— Juhea Kim, internationally bestselling author of A Love Story from the End of the World"Nayantara Roy's achingly powerful second novel maps the complicated emotional terrain between two half-sisters who try to mend their relationship in the wake of a cataclysmic betrayal… Roy's characters achieve both a layered complexity and a certain 'hard-won sweetness' to their love. With subtle grace and a fierce, deep compassion for her characters, Roy paints an unforgettable portrait of sisterhood and family."
— Katie Noah Gibson, Shelf Awareness"In this deeply emotional novel, Nayantara Roy explores the rivalry and heartbreak of two sisters. Roy has a powerful understanding of family and the complexities of love."
— Delia Ephron, author of Left on Tenth"Roy's narrative and lyrical gifts are on full display in this moving and beautiful novel about love in all its forms. A sweeping and lustrous book, Sisters of a Halved Heart has re-wired how I think about familial relationships, how we fall in and out of love, and the purpose of poetry in our daily lives. What a joy to read."
— Michael Dickman, author of Pacific Power and Light and Days and Days"Readers looking for messy, complicated characters will find satisfaction in every drama-laden page of this novel. The struggle for parental love and approval between the sisters feels authentic. Roy's latest is a solid suggestion for fans of Emily Giffin and Kristin Hannah and character-driven novels."
— Booklist
Emma Parry
Janklow & Nesbit
Kim Yau
Echo Lake Entertainment
Lauren Roberts
Hachette Book Group
