About the author

Australian author

Charlotte McConaghy, 31, began to write her first book at 14 and was supported by her mum, who understood that writing takes practice. She was born in Darwin, but raised “all over the place,” McConaghy laughs. “By the time I turned 21, I’d lived in 21 different houses … Because we moved around so much, I understand what it feels like to be unsure where you belong, and this is something that informs a large part of [my protagonist] Franny’s character. She is a wanderer, a roamer, and a part of her is always searching for home and family, even while her wandering feet drive her away from those things.” The author now lives in Sydney and has worked in TV script development for many years. The Last Migration is her first literary novel. world the book had to take place in.”

Franny has always been a wanderer and her childhood sees her boomerang between Australia and Ireland. At university in Galway, she meets and marries ornithologist Niall. But when their relationship hits trouble, Franny heads for Greenland and the terns

Niall always longed to track. There, she persuades a fishing boat captain to take her on board and as they journey south, Franny’s turbulent past spills out.

The landscapes in the book are exquisitely wrought, while the emotion is powerful and ultimately enriching.

“This is a book, more than anything, about hope,” explains McConaghy. “It’s about a woman who has lost all hope, but over the course of an impossible journey she manages to reclaim it. Hope for the world, and our place in it, for the salvation of our wonderful wild places and creatures, but also for herself. Franny’s story is one of redemption. It’s about forgiving herself and making peace with the trauma of her past.

And it’s ultimately about the healing power of nature.”