About Me

I am an award-winning book publicist with over 17 years experience and an extensive and diverse network of contacts across print, online and broadcast media and events. I deliver strategic, sales-driving campaigns that launch careers, build brands, start conversations and create cultural moments.

I started my career at Pan Macmillan working on the Macmillan New Writing list and then worked across the general Pan Macmillan list in marketing and publicity. Most recently I was Publicity Director at Faber where I worked across fiction and non-fiction, with authors including Gary Younge, Marina Hyde, Sara Pascoe, Leïla Slimani, Louise Doughty, Peter Swanson and John Lanchester.

Clients I have worked with include: Picador, Bluebird, Profile, The Indigo Press, Octopus, University of California Press, Gibson Square, Persephone Books.

Bespoke Publicity Campaigns

I work closely with each author to plan their campaign, plotting coverage and features and distilling the key messages of the book that connect it to its readers. I am strategic, creative and tenacious in my approach and offer first rate author care.

I have excellent contacts with the literary, arts and feature editors, producers across the broadcast media, crime and book bloggers and event planners and booksellers.

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What I offer

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A full PR campaign, spanning 3-6 months.

Targeted work over a specified timeframe, following up on pre-existing pitches or providing new ideas part way through a campaign.

Dedicated work for a day or two a month to increase the lifespan of a campaign.

Campaigns

Visual Portfolio, Posts & Image Gallery for WordPress

Crime Fiction

I have extensive experience promoting crime fiction and helping to build brands including Laura Lippman, Peter Swanson, Ann Cleeves, Nicola Upson, Brian McGilloway and P.D. James.

Debuts

I have helped launch the careers of many authors including Leïla Slimani (Lullaby), Rebecca Watson (little scratch), Bev Thomas (A Good Enough Mother), Ingrid Persuad (Love After Love), Kate Hamer (The Girl in the Red Coat), Petina Gappah (The Book of Memory).

Literary & Commercial Fiction

I have worked with major literary names including John Lanchester, Louise Doughty, David Peace, Milan Kundera and Tsitsi Dangarembga.

Non-fiction

I have wide-ranging experience working on non-fiction campaigns across genres including:

Politics and current affairs

The Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller What Just Happened?! Dispatches from Turbulent Times by Marina Hyde, Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge, The New York Times bestselling Collusion by Luke Harding

Business and Economics

The Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller How To Speak Money by John Lanchester, The Double X Economy by Linda Scott, international bestseller Swimming with Sharks by Joris Luyendijk.

Biography / Memoir

Animal by Sara Pascoe (2016 winner of the Annual PPC Award for paperback original non-fiction), Future Sex by Emily Witt, I Am Dynamite! by Sue Prideaux, Tom Stoppard by Hermione Lee, Absolute Beginner by Patsy Kensit, Rising to the Surface by Lenny Henry

Science / psychology

The Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller Sex Power Money by Sara Pascoe, The Heartland by Nathan Filer, The Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett

Cookery

Home Cook by Thomasina Miers, Veneto by Valeria Necchio, Food for All Seasons by Oliver Rowe, How to Cook for Food Allergies by Lucinda Bruce Gardyne

History

Red Memory by Tania Branigan, Great Hatred by Ronan McGreevy, Beyond Measure by James Vincent

Book Tours & Events

I have extensive experience setting up book tours for authors which have helped propel them into the bestseller lists. I have a broad list of contacts across bookshops, major literary festivals and other event organisations including Guardian Live, Intelligence Squared, 5×15, Bookslam, Gliterary Lunch and Fane.

'Apart from being a total pleasure at absolutely all times, working with Sophie to publicise my book felt like being given a masterclass in the art. She is exceptionally pro-active, efficient, thoughtful and creative - her level of professionalism is quite something to see, and to say I felt lucky was an understatement. She is the gold-standard of publicists and a truly wonderful person - I was, and remain, in awe.'

Marina Hyde

'There are three things that really make Sophie a fantastic publicist and a joy to work with. First, she values and the books she is working with. With some publicists you feel that they could be selling anything, with Sophie you get a sense that she’s selling something that she understands and enjoys. I doubt she loves every book she has to sell. But I’ve only ever heard her speak – even in private, late at night, when the bottles have been emptied and the bill paid - well of the books she is selling and have no doubt that she loves books. Second, she has an intimate, grounded knowledge of the media and event landscape and how that will work with your book. When she recommends a podcast, book shop or festival I’ve never heard of I trust her and she’s never wrong. She listens to the shows she’s sending you on, gets feedback on the places she’s sent you to if she hasn’t been there yourself. Finally, and in some ways most importantly, she makes it her business to know you – the author. This is more than about just being kind and personable. She actually makes it her business to work out what makes sense for you – your abilities, domestic situation, interests and quirks. When you undertake book promotion you submit yourself, to some extent, to someone else’s care. Whenever I have worked with Sophie I have always felt confident that I am working alongside someone who is not just promoting my book, but looking out for me – which she manages to do with considerable skill and a great sense of humour.'

Gary Younge

'Sophie is a hard-working and hugely personable publicist. She is great at communicating publication plans and opportunities and at responding to her clients needs.'

Sara Pascoe

‘Any author would be lucky to have Sophie look after them. In the time she took care of me at Faber & Faber, over several novels, she was always efficient, cheerful - and utterly unflappable. She’s a complete pleasure to work with.’

Louise Doughty

'I was really lucky to have Sophie as my publicist for both my books; A Good Enough Mother and The Family Retreat. Given her vast experience and skills, Sophie has excellent contacts and played a key role in getting my novels out to wider audiences, though book festivals and events as well as pitching articles to magazines and newspapers. Sophie not only knows the market, but was quick to understand the territory of my novels and see the opportunities for promotion to potential audiences. She worked very hard on my behalf, was a joy to work with and has been hugely supportive to me on my journey as a writer.'

Bev Thomas, author of A Good Enough Mother and The Family Retreat

'Sophie was the first publicist I worked with when I entered the world of writing and publishing. The fact that I now enjoy a successful literary career is due in no small part to this fact. She has been my benchmark for skill, talent, professionalism and competence since day one, to the extent that I'm fairly sure Sophie is some sort of wizard. She insists she isn't, but the evidence suggests otherwise.'

Dean Burnett, author of Emotional Ignorance