PBS Books Readers Club is excited to kick off its third season with New York Times bestselling author Charlotte McConaghy to discuss her novel Once There Were Wolves and shed light on her brand-new highly acclaimed novel Wild Dark Shore. The episode premieres on January 28th at 8PM ET as a PBS Books Facebook Live event, on the PBS Books YouTube channel, pbsbooks.org, and the PBS app.
Once There Were Wolves follows Inti Flynn as she arrives in the remote Scottish Highlands with a bold mission: to reintroduce gray wolves to a landscape ravaged by overgrazing. Fierce, determined, and carrying her own bruised history, Inti believes restoring the wolves is the key to healing the land—and perhaps herself. But when a man from the community turns up dead, suspicion falls squarely on the pack. To protect the animals she’s worked tirelessly to save, Inti makes a fateful choice that entangles her in a mystery far more human than anyone expects.
Lyrical, haunting, and deeply atmospheric, Once There Were Wolves blends environmental suspense and our unique bond with animals with an intimate portrait of trauma, sisterhood, and resilience. It’s a riveting story that asks how we learn to trust again—in nature, in one another, and in ourselves. It’s perfect for readers who crave emotional depth wrapped in a gripping, propulsive narrative.
PBS Books Readers Club will also glimpse into McConaghy’s newest novel, Wild Dark Shore. This emotional thriller follows Dominic Salt and his three children, lone caretakers of a remote island’s seed vault as climate change closes in. When a mysterious woman named Rowan washes ashore during a brutal storm, their fragile isolation and buried secrets begin to unravel. As the sea rises and the truth about Rowan’s past—and Dominic’s—comes to light, trust is tested, loyalties shift, and the stakes become more than just survival.
 About the Hosts
Princess Weekes
Princess Weekes is an award winning writer and video essayist who works at breaking down the intersections between race, gender, and pop culture. Formally an Assistant Editor at The Mary Sue, co-host of Netflix’s The Geeked Podcast, and co-host and co-writer on the PBS Digital Series It’s Lit. On weekends she works as a bookseller at a local bookstore. When not reading or writing she can be found playing TTRPGs of cuddling with her cat, Lola.
Lauren Smith
Executive Producer and host of national PBS programming at Detroit PBS, Lauren develops content for PBS and other distributors of public media for broadcast, streaming, and other digital channels and has executive-produced and/or produced over 60 national broadcast and programs. Her passion is to develop inspiring, entertaining, and educational content alongside the best national and international talent, and to engage important content with communities across the country. Lauren loves to read and has worked to develop and produce PBS Books content for nearly ten years!
