The Last Migration is your first literary fiction novel. What inspired the change after your ‘Chronicles of Kaya’ series? 

The transition into literary fiction was one that felt natural to me, though not at all unchallenging. The Last Migration was a story that was very deeply embedded in me; it came from an instinctive, passionate place, and turned out to be the hardest thing I’d ever written. I think that challenge is incredibly important, though, because it hopefully means you’re doing something worthwhile. 

The book follows Franny Stone as she tracks the last migration of the Arctic terns – what inspired this setting?

I have always loved birds and when I learned about the Arctic terns and their extraordinarily long journey I was blown away. They fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again in a year, and over the course of their lifetimes this means they will fly the equivalent distance the moon and back three times. This became a metaphor for the novel, for the courage it will take for humans in facing the loss of our wild animals, and the courage of Franny in taking on such an impossible journey. 

Tell us about Franny – how did you develop the personal (and literal) journey she goes on in the novel?

Her journey is one of both personal redemption and a quest to witness and help the last flock of Arctic terns, in turn helping in the fight against animal extinction. It’s a journey that begins from a place of hopelessness and self-punishment, but throughout the story, because of the connections she builds and the experiences she has, she is able to reclaim her hope, not only for the natural world but for herself, too. She is able to see the beauty that still remains in the world, and she’s inspired by it, which is what I hope readers will take from the book. 

You’ve also written extensively as a screenwriter – do you think The Last Migration would work as a film? How would you tweak it? 

Funnily enough, I’m actually in talks to sell the film rights now, so it may just become a film one day after all! I think it would work wonderfully because it’s already such a visual story, with amazing scenery, and there’s a physical journey which lend themselves to the screen. The challenge with adapting novels is always in how you dramatise the internal journey of the protagonists. How do you tell an audience what they’re thinking and feeling – without having them blurt it out in clumsy dialogue? Franny’s rich internal world would need to be brought to life somehow, and that might be visually or it might be in her actions or her interactions with other characters. 

The Last Migration by Charlotte McConaghy is published by Hamish Hamilton.