biog

Biog...

Sophie was introduced to music early on at primary school, with the typical classroom and peripatetic classical educations that are found in rural C of E primary schools - recorders and borrowed violins.

It was at this time that she began writing stories with a neighbourhood friend that happened to be three years older than her. This friend had a massive influence on the young Sophie, and contributed greatly to the neatening of handwriting and more importantly, the maturity of her vocabulary and command of the language. But it wasn't until she was approximately twelve years of age that her real education began - when she discovered the Levellers.

Do not underestimate the effect a band can have on a young girl.

For the Levellers introduced her to a new world. A world where violins were played in bands and protest song and politics went hand in hand. And folk music.

By the time Sophie was sixteen, folk music - amongst many other genres - had been devoured. But she noticed that some of the journalism commentating on her favourite genre was not as hot and fresh as the music itself.

So she took it upon herself to combine the two.

Since she was sixteen, Sophie has steadily expanded the number of magazines and publications - and genres - for which she writes. (Have a look on the other pages of her website for samples)

She has begun her own zine, For Folk's Sake, and can be relied upon for fresh, knowledgeable and enthusiastic copy and commentary. But don't think that Sophie was neglecting her creative writing in this time. As soon as she begun her degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Manchester in 2003, she founded the university's Creative Writing Society. The society met weekly in a social environment and attracted members from all academic disciplines, keen to discuss their material in enthusiastic yet critical surroundings. The Society published their own material in the 2005 anthology 'Tiny Minds' and regularly invited established writers in for question and answer sessions.

Sophie won a place on the fiercely competitive creative writing module for years two and three as part of her degree course, and built up a portfolio of short stories under novelists Martyn Bedford and Geoff Ryman, and poet John McAuliffe. She has since had a short story placed in the prestigious Round Table Review journal, been shortlisted in a union short story competition and had a longer work serialised in a magazine.