Sophie Neville - Author's biography:

An Anthropology graduate, Sophie Neville nearly killed herself working for the BBC in London before becoming a horse safari guide in southern Africa, which was far more dangerous. 'Do you ever get lost?' riders would ask her. She did once but ploughed on regardless, which is pretty much the attitude she now takes with her writing.

Sophie became inadvertently well known as a child after starring as 'Titty' in the 1974 movie 'Swallows and Amazons', hailed as 'the feel-good Lockdown film' when screened on BBC Two and in Australia in 2020. Her ebook, 'The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons', became a bestseller on Amazon and attracted publicity in the Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail. She was commissioned to write 'The Making of Swallows and Amazons', now published by The Lutterworth Press, and brought out two humorous memoirs: 'Ride the Wings of Morning' and 'Funnily Enough', serialised in iBelieve magazine.

As President of The Arthur Ransome Society (2013-2019) Sophie spoke at literary festivals and on BBC Radio, wrote Forewords for books such as 'Swallowdale' by Arthur Ransome, and nearly capsized on ITV News.
 
After acting as a girl, Sophie went into television production. While at the BBC, she worked on drama serials such as 'My Family and Other Animals', 'Eastenders' and 'Doctor Who', directing her first documentary for Channel 4 when driving from London to Johannesburg. After producing an 'Inset' series and writing a few of her own programmes, she set up a Blue Peter exploration of South Africa and worked freelance for the BBC Natural History Unit in Botswana and Namibia. She is to appear on 'BBC Antiques Roadshow' in 2021.