Sophie has won the Eyelands Book Awards for an unpublished Historical Novel. This story was shortlisted by Flash 500 Novel Opening Competition 2022, shortlisted in the Fiction Factory First Chapter competition, short-listed by The Virginia Prize for Fiction and won 3rd Prize in the I AM Writing Romance Competition (judged by Kate Nash on commercial appeal) and the Association of Christian Writers’ novel writing competition in the UK.
Sophie’s wartime story was shortlisted by the C&R Press 2022 Awards for Literature and reached the finals of the Association of Christian Fiction Writers’ First Impressions writing contest in the USA. It was shortlisted for the U.S. 2022 Hemingway Book Awards for 20th Century Wartime fiction.
The Lutterworth Press will be bringing ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ out as an audiobook with Sophie narrating her own diary.
Sophie is also bringing out her award-winning book ‘Funnily Enough’ as an audio book. She read a section of her chapter on ‘The Real Meaning of Christmas’ and was interviewed on UCB Irelands’ Writer’s Trail Christmas Special.
‘Ride the Wings of Morning’ by Sophie Neville won the Proust Prize 2022 for being the longest book in the ACW conference, where I ran a workshop written up in Christian Writer magazine:
Meanwhile, my unpublished WWII story is currently Number 1 in historical fiction in the Launch Pad Prose writing competition in the USA
This pair of unpublished novels set in Africa were long-listed in Retreat West’s First Chapter Competition 2022 and reached the finals of the 2021 Page Turner Wards.
One was in the quarter-finals of Roadmap’s Write Start Competition in the USA, the semi-finals of The Eludia Award 2021:
Sophie’s work in progress, set in East Africa, Burma and Japan, has won three literary awards:
‘A Woman’s Write’ 2019 prize for an unpublished novel in the USA
Eyelands Book Awards 2019 prize for an unpublished historical novel.
Athanatos Writing Contest in the USA: Grand Prize U$2,500
It was long-listed for the Historical Novel Society’s First Novel Award, Retreat West’s First Chapter Competition, 2021, the Exeter Prize 2021, Flash 500 novel opening competition, 2021 and reached the semi-finals of a North American novel writing competition.
Sophie was awarded a Three Rock Writer’s Resort residency on Crete
The Wilson Stephens & Jones Gallery in London have been exhibiting Sophie Neville’s picture of an artichoke, taken during the Covid-19 lockdown.
It won the photography section of the Create! competition held in aid of the literacy charity, SchoolReaders and judged by Harry Cory Wright.
https://www.schoolreaders.org/create-video
Often featured in the book press, Sophie has become an Author Supporter for SchoolReaders’ literacy programme
A story from one of her books was featured in The Times Diary recently.
A signed edition of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ by Sophie Neville sold in a charity auction in aid of BBC Children in Need for £251
She took part in a Lakeland Arts online event, spoke on Felixstow Radio and was interviewed in the press and for online magazines:
‘The Secret Life of Arthur Ransome‘ presented by Griff Rhys Jones, which includes film clips is constantly on BBC iPlayer.
Sophie Neville’s incredible true stories can be seen profiled on Wikiesvied.com here
Sophie has been speaking on BBC Radio Solent about her beach cleaning activities. She won Beach Picker of the Year 2020 and Litter Picker of the Year 2021 awarded by Littler Pickers of the New Forest.
a project covered by the Daily Mail
Sophie appeared in a number of newspapers
to help advertise the Essex Book Festival 2019
She has been contributing to the Westmorland Gazette’s Podium column:
and writes for various publications to gain publicity for The Waterberg Trust
She opened the The Tavistock Festival
David Webb‘s new DVD on ‘Walton’s Secret Backwaters’ presented by Chris Opperman features an interview with Sophie in her role as President of The Arthur Ransome Society and includes the cover of her book on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’. The DVD can be purchased here.
Sophie’s talk at the Alhambra Cinema in Keswick attracted press coverage for the Keswick Convention.
She is often invited to speak on BBC Radio Solent and BBC Radio Cumbria while her public appearances have been discussed on other stations this year.
The second edition of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ has been regularly featured in magazines and newspapers
6-page article in La Plume was published in the Netherlands
-News from 2017-
Feature article in the December issue of Living magazine
~ Sophie Neville profiled in Country Life magazine~
with a Podium column The Westmorland Gazette.
The Westmorland Gazette and Cumbria Magazine have both run features and book reviews
News coverage of the marathon reading of ‘We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea’ attracted extensive with coverage on BBC News, BBC Radio Suffolk, and ITV local News when Griff Rhys Jones and Sophie Neville were both interviewed.
A 6-page feature in Classic Sailor magazine.
News of the Marathon Reading of Swallows and Amazons in the Mail with photos in the Westmorland Gazette
and a feature in North West News and Features, The Mail, Go Lakes, Head for the Hills, Cumbria Life, Cumbria Crack, the Westmorland Gazette , reading with Radio 4’s reporter Caz Graham
There were further broadcasts on Lakeland Radio News, The Bay Radio News with top billing for Sophie Neville on BBC Radio Cumbria, which you can listen to here (start at 48.00)
News of Sophie’s books has also been covered by other regions:
‘Funnily Enough’ on the front cover of the Tavistock Times Gazette
-News from 2016-
Sophie Neville with Alastair Fothergill and Juliet Maddan fundraising for The Waterberg Trust profiled in the Northern Echo and other regional newspapers
The 1974 film of ‘Swallows & Amazons’ broadcast in Australia
Westmoreland Gazette – November
Lymington Times – October
East Anglian Daily Times – October
Speaking on Premier Radio – August
BBC South Today – on BBC iPlayer at 21.05
The Times Diary – August
Czech News Agency quoting Sophie Nevillova:
“Je třeba brát neustále v úvahu, že Vlaštovky jsou fiktivní hrdinové,” zdůrazňuje Sophie Nevillová, předsedkyně Společnosti Arthura Ransoma. “Ano, vycházejí z Altounyanových dětí, ale Ransome chtěl, aby se s nimi mohlo ztotožnit každé dítě.”
BBC Radio Leeds with Richard Stead – August
Sophie’s book trailer published in the Mail Online – August & July
Telegraph feature by Virginia McKenna – August
repeated on NZ News
.
Speaking on Saturday Breakfast Show BBC Radio Suffolk
Speaking to Mike Zeller on BBC Radio Cumbria
News article in the Ipswich Star 25th July
Feature article in Weekend edition of East Anglian Daily Times
The Mail Online in The Guardian, the Express ,the Sunday Telegraph, the Independent and Lancashire Life
A quote on BBC TV’s ‘Have I Got A Bit More News for You’, interviews on BBC Radio Cumbria and in the Telegraph please click here
“Would I be remembered as an intrepid child?” Saturday Telegraph
Author Sophie Neville in Bedford Times and Citizen and Radio BigglesFM
Appearing in the classic movie ‘Swallows & Amazons’ on ITV3 over Christmas
– 2015 –
Q&A at a cinema screening of ‘Swallows & Amazons’ featured in the Ipswich Star
The Mail Online published the book trailer for ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons’
Telegraph interviewed Sophie Neville and the official movie trailer was in the Express
Speaking to Dan Damon on BBC Radio 4 + World Update
live radio interviews on
BBC Radio Tees and BBC Radio Cumbria – (click here: it’s at 49.50)
Telegraph On-line as discussed on Sky TV – twice
and by Anne Diamond on The Wright Stuff
The Times Diary (TMS) on 6th July
and Pick of The Week:
All after this interview in the Telegraph was syndicated nationwide
The Trailer for the book ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ included in the Mail Online
The Irish Examiner , Breaking News in Ireland and The Times on Saturday
A photograph in the Telegraph View
a comment in the Daily Telegraph editorial
a photograph in the Independent
articles in the Daily Express
The Guardian – rated ‘Top Entertainment Story’ by Google
A photographic article in the Westmorland Gazette
articles in about 34 other newspapers
including Smallholder
with letters in the Telegraph, Guardian and Times
CBBC TV’s new show Cinemaniacs
The Wright Stuff ~ Channel 5
Cotswold Life profiled Sophie in their November and December issues
A photograph from the film in the Times Saturday Review
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Excitement about the 40th Anniversary cinema screenings of Swallows & Amazons (U) spawned pictorials in the Westmorland Gazette weekend feature
The Bolton News, and The Lady with a Daily Mail Weekend magazine feature on Virginia McKenna
Cumbria Live picked up on the news, as did BBC Radio Cumbria and Lakeland Radio.
Westmorland Gazette 2014 with a feature article and The Lymington Times reviewed the book. There were numerous on-line reviews of StudioCanal’s 40th Anniversary release of the restored Blu-ray and DVD with bonus material as well as posts such as this one on Flickering Myth.
The cover appeared in The Sunday Observer magazine and the Telegraph Magazine, while Sophie wrote a piece for a page in Country Life:
The Making of Swallows & Amazons has also been featured in the magazine Yours:
Media attention received by the publication of the ebook on The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons was considerable. The day after an article appeared in Richard Kay’s column in the Daily Mail, Hayley Dixon ran a feature with colour photographs and the book trailer in the Telegraph, Culture- Books section
The Sunday Telegraph Seven magazine rang to ask for exclusivity on extracts. The next day The Times published this half-page article in their Saturday issue:
There was another article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday:
It was followed by features in local newspapers:
Lutterworth and Rugby Observer and The Rugby Advertiser ran news features.
The Arthur Ransome Society magazines Mixed Moss, Signals and The Outlaw published articles and reviews. Reviews on-line are said to reach millions.
There was even more of a buzz in Cumbria Live and Hastings Online Times while Richard Kay ran a second movie-story from Sophie Neville:
Local newspaper articles led to sales:
Classic Boat magazine had a book review in their February issue.
iBelieve, the Christian lifestyle magazine, published eleven double-page extracts from ‘Funnily Enough’ .
News pages ~ August 2012
Sophie Neville 