Sophie Buchaillard

Sophie Buchaillard was born in Paris and lived in Bordeaux, Salamanca, Merrill (NY) and London, settling in South Wales in 2001, almost by accident.

Originally trained as a political scientist, she worked for student and environmental charities and the Higher Education sector for twenty years, as a researcher, a strategist and a policy advisor, set up a business as a leadership coach supporting women returning from maternity leave, and co-authored Talented Women for a Successful Wales, a report making recommendations to the Welsh Government on improving gender parity in business and education. In 2019, she left it all behind to undertake an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from Cardiff University, to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a writer and to show her children that it is never too late to follow your passion.

Sophie writes contemporary fiction inspired by her and her family’s travels, and short stories that reflect on the anxieties of our age. Her short stories and essays have appeared in Wales Arts Review, Murmurations Magazine, The Other Side of Hope and Square Wheel Press. 

Now a doctoral candidate, she tutors in creative writing at Cardiff University, alongside writing her memoir and co-hosting a literary podcast @Writers_reading. She lives in Penarth with her husband and children.

For details of upcoming publications, follow Sophie on Twitter: @growriter and sign up to her newsletter on www.sophiebuchaillard.com

Sophie’s debut novel This Is Not Who We Are is forthcoming in June 2022.