About Sophie

‘Haydock ensures that these women emerge from behind Schiele's gaze, and she also uses them to illuminate a period of seismic change... an impressive and highly enjoyable debut’

– THE GUARDIAN

Shining a light on hidden stories…

Sophie Haydock is an author and journalist (Sunday Times, Financial Times, Guardian), living in Folkestone, Kent. She is also curator of Folkestone Book Festival, as part of her role at Creative Folkestone.

Her debut novel, The Flames – about the women who posed for the scandalous artist Egon Schiele in Vienna a century ago – was longlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown Award and won the Impress Prize for New Writers.

The Flames has been translated into seven languages and 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, 2024.

Sophie trained as a journalist at City University, London, and has interviewed leading authors, including Hilary Mantel, Maggie O’Farrell, Bernardine Evaristo, Sally Rooney and Amy Tan.

A champion of short stories, Sophie also worked for the Sunday Times Short Story Award and is associate director of the Word Factory. She is a judge for various competitions, including Bath Short Story Award and Society of Authors' ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award. Her own story, Mudlarks, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2023.

Her second novel, Madame Matisse, about the women who were integral to the life and art of the French artist Henri Matisse – and the ultimatum at the heart of his marriage – will be published by Doubleday in March 2025.

A confident public speaker, Sophie regularly features on podcasts, appears at literary festivals including Hay and Cheltenham, and speaks to large audiences about art and literature at venues such as the National Gallery, Sotheby's and The Trouble Club. She’s available to interview other authors and has done so for live events at Hatchards and Fane productions.

Sophie is represented by Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment. Her Instagram account @egonschieleswomen – dedicated to the women who posed for Egon Schiele – has a community of over 110,000 followers.