Internationally bestselling author Charlotte McConaghy will discuss her stunning new climate fiction novel, Wild Dark Shore, with acclaimed screenwriter Melissa Lee Speyer. Set on a remote research island between Australia and Antarctica, this gripping psychological thriller explores the impossible choices we make to protect those we love amid environmental collapse. McConaghy will reveal the inspiration behind her haunting narratives, including her daring research trip to Macquarie Island with her infant son. The conversation will also explore McConaghy’s previous bestsellers, Migrations and Once There Were Wolves, her screenwriting background, and the journey of adapting her works for the screen.

Charlotte McConaghy is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Once There Were Wolves, winner of the Indie Book Award for Fiction 2022, which is currently being developed for television; and the international bestseller Migrations, a TIME Magazine Best Book of the Year and the Amazon.com Best Fiction Book of the Year for 2020, which has been translated into more than twenty languages and is being adapted for film. She has a Masters Degree in Screenwriting from AFTRS and lives in Sydney with her partner and two children.

Melissa Lee Speyer is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and screen executive. She has worked in script development for Screen Australia and for several independent production companies across a slate of Australian films, television shows and online series for local and global audiences. A graduate of both NIDA’s playwriting degree and the AFTRS Masters of Screen Arts, she is passionate about writing for performance and about Australian scripted storytelling.