Wales Book of the Year Focus: Sophie Yeo

Published Wed 28 May 2025 - By Literature Wales

Ask the Author: Sophie Yeo

When did you first realise that you wanted to be an author?

When I was young, I spent all my spare time in my bedroom, writing diaries and bad poetry. The rest flowed from there.

What inspires you?

I regularly take the same walk from my house into the centre of Durham, which passes through a woodland and a meadow, with the cathedral in the distance. I feel my brain coming alive on these walks; I think it is a combination of the motion, the changing landscape and the sense of history on the horizon.

Who’s your hero and why?

As someone who mainly writes about nature for a living, I am greatly impressed by anyone who actually gets their hands dirty and makes real-life improvements to the world. In Nature’s Ghosts, I wrote about Philip and Myrtle Ashmole, who restored a modern-day wildwood to a Scottish glen through sheer willpower and determination. More recently, I have been inspired by Katie Stacey and Luke Massey, who are rewilding a degraded farm in Spain, with their two young children in tow. The bravery and passion on display in both cases is incredible; I don’t know how they did it.

Your favourite place on earth and why?

There are so many places I love; it feels impossible to choose just one. But the coastline of Northumberland has a strong claim on my affections, as it is where I have recently spent many joyful days with my family. I also have happy memories of camping in various National Parks across America with my husband several years ago, and feeling a sense of deep awe at the majesty and wildness of nature that I witnessed, of a kind that is impossible to summon in the UK.

What are you currently reading?

The Little Grey Men, by B.B. – a strange little story about the last gnomes in England, published in 1942. Although it is really a children’s book, the author was a naturalist, and I was drawn in by the rich descriptions of nature – a snapshot of a time when the countryside was wilder than it is today.

What inspired the idea for your book?

There were many strands that came together over time. But what really made me put pen to paper was watching the growing debate around rewilding, and how far these efforts should be informed by the past.

Will you read a piece from it please?!

Who should read your book and why?

I hope Nature’s Ghosts is accessible to the general reader: everyone has a stake in the future of the planet, and there’s a message for us all in what I wrote. But I was particularly keen on reaching out to archaeologists and conservationists, as I believe they have so much to learn from each other. I am always pleased when I hear from anyone in those professions who has read and enjoyed my book.

How does it feel to have reached the WBOTY 2025 Shortlist?

Surprising and wonderful! 

Do you have any other work/events in the works?

I have plenty of ideas for projects I’d like to pursue, but I have a three-month-old baby, so I spend most of my time looking after him right now. I’m back at work in August, when I’ll start thinking about whether any of my maternity leave daydreams could ever become reality.