Novelist | Journalist | Cultural Curator
Sophie Haydock is a novelist whose work brings to life the forgotten women behind some of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Her fiction explores the charged intersection of art, ambition, scandal and love, reclaiming the voices of the muses, mistresses, wives and collaborators who shaped modern art.
Alongside her fiction, Sophie works as a journalist, cultural curator and interviewer, bringing literature into conversation with art, history and public life.
She lives and writes by the sea in Folkestone, Kent, with her cats, Fossil & Mudlark.
‘Haydock writes the women back into art history’
NOVELS
Sophie’s debut novel, The Flames, reimagines the lives of the women who posed for the scandalous Austrian artist Egon Schiele in Vienna a century ago. It was published by Doubleday, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in March 2022.
The novel was longlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown Award and won the Impress Prize for New Writers. It has been translated into seven languages and was named by The Times as one of the Best Historical Fiction Books of 2022. The Italian translation, Le Fiamme, won the Premio Letterario Edoardo Kihlgren for debut novel in Milan in 2024.
Her second novel, Madame Matisse, published by Doubleday in March 2025, explores the women who shaped the life and art of Henri Matisse and the devastating ultimatum at the heart of his marriage. Through richly researched storytelling, Sophie’s novels restore presence, agency and voice to the women history left standing just outside the frame.
JOURNALISM & LITERARY LIFE
Sophie trained as a journalist at City, University, London and writes for publications including The Sunday Times, Financial Times and The Guardian.
She worked as a food journalist at the Sunday Times, memorably as AA Gill’s restaurant review copy taker, and has interviewed many of the most influential writers of our time, including Hilary Mantel, Maggie O’Farrell, Bernardine Evaristo, Jilly Cooper, Max Porter, Sally Rooney and Amy Tan.
A champion of short fiction, Sophie was digital editor for the Sunday Times Short Story Award and associate director of the Word Factory. She judges literary prizes including the Bath Short Story Award and the Society of Authors’ ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award.
Her own short story, Mudlarks, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2023 to an audience of 350,000.
CURATING BOOKS, IDEAS AND COMMUNITY
Alongside her writing, Sophie is Curator of Books, Ideas and Community at Creative Folkestone, where she curates the annual Folkestone Book Festival, which will take place in 2026 from 12-22 November.
Under her curatorship the festival has grown in ambition, reach and national profile, bringing leading writers and cultural thinkers to the Kent coast and expanding audience engagement and ticket sales. The programme places Folkestone firmly on the literary map, drawing acclaimed authors and new voices alike to the town for conversations that connect literature with contemporary culture.
As part of her role at Creative Folkestone, Sophie leads Folkestone is a Library, an ambitious three-year project funded by Arts Council England. The initiative reimagines an entire town as a living library, transforming streets, beaches, schools and cafés into places where stories are shared, written and discovered.
Working with partners across education, culture and community organisations, the project seeks to widen access to literature and storytelling across the town, with particular focus on areas of deprivation. The work demonstrates how culture and creativity can play a meaningful role in social connection, opportunity and long-term change.
To launch the project in March 2026, Sophie will host the world’s largest beach book swap, an extraordinary celebration of the power of community and storytelling on Folkestone’s shoreline.
For her work with Folkestone is a Library, Sophie was named by Zetteler as one of their 26 Cultural Changemakers for 2026.
SPEAKING & EVENTS
Sophie is a confident interviewer and public speaker, appearing regularly at literary festivals including Hay and Cheltenham and at cultural venues such as the National Gallery, Sotheby’s and The Trouble Club.
She frequently interviews leading authors for live events, including conversations at Hatchards and for Fane Productions. Her talks explore art, literature, hidden histories and the women who shaped cultural movements.
LIFE & CURIOSITY
Sophie’s creative life is shaped by curiosity and adventure. She is a licensed mudlark on the River Thames, searching the foreshore for fragments of London’s past.
In 2025, took part in an Arctic Circle residency, sailing through remote polar landscapes alongside artists and scientists.
These encounters with forgotten and hidden objects, archives and landscapes often find their way into the stories she tells.
REPRESENTATION AND AUDIENCE
Sophie is represented by Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment.
Her Instagram account @egonschieleswomen, dedicated to the women who posed for Egon Schiele, has built a global community of more than 100,000 followers interested in art, literature and the untold stories behind modern masterpieces.
She also writes Forbidden Art, a newsletter exploring provocative and overlooked stories from art history and the women who inhabit its margins.