Nilanjana S. Roy is a novelist and a columnist on books and the reading life for the Financial Times. Her first two novels, The Wildings and The Hundred Names of Darkness, are award-winning works of fantasy for young adults. Black River grew out of her years of reporting on gender from New Delhi and the surrounding states for the New York Times, and from four years of exploring the capital and the Yamuna river on long walks. She has edited several anthologies on subjects ranging from the freedom movement to Indian food. She has lived in New Delhi, Kolkata and Goa. Black River is her first novel for adults. She is working on her next, which explores power and greed in Delhi.