Back to Featured Interviews >>

MEET SOPHIE WEBB
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Sophie Webb

I loved to write and draw as a child. Writing stories and drawing mostly mammals and horses, the occasional raptor. I was fairly much animal crazy and horse crazy as many young girls are.

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

Most of my writing was when I was younger. I did some during high school but it was mostly associated with assignments. I always drew though for fun.

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?

No, I wanted to be either like Jane Goodall or Jaques Cousteau.

What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer - adult or children?

At the moment children.

When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)

I started off in art school after taking two years off to ride horses rather seriously. While in Art school I volunteered at the New England Aquarium in their curatorial dept.: taking care of harbor seals, penguins, turtles and a sweet pair of beavers. This prompted me to take biology during summer school. I loved the material though I disliked the professor, so I changed majors to Biology as a junior. I think I thought I could teach myself the art but not the science. I did also take some non credit courses in biological illustration at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

I worked on a 2 week research cruise going from Massachusetts to the Canadian border. After that short job I went to New Mexico to study Falmmulated Owls in the Zuni Mts.: a beautiful place and my first real taste of the west.

How soon after that was your first book published?

The first book I had published was A GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF MEXICO AND NORTHERN CENTRAL AMERICA, Oxford University Press which I co-authored with Steve Howell and illustrated.

When was it published?

1995.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

Yes, accepted immediately, as was my first children’s book. Creating the latter and having it published to be honest was a complete fluke.

What are the topics are some of your books?

One is about a research project in the Antarctic studying penguins, the other about research project in the Aleutians studying seabirds.

Do you focus on fiction or nonfiction? Which do you prefer? Do you find one easier than the other?

At the moment non-fiction.

Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work?

Currently no. In the past I co-authored several scientific papers.

What kinds of things inspire you to write?

Nature.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

Yes my first 2 kids books won several awards. MY SEASON WITH PENGUINS has been in six Middle School California Collections, from 2003 to 2008.

How did your life change when you got married? and had children? Did it make it easier or harder to find time to write?

I am currently divorced with no kids. I work part time as an illustrator/ author and part-time as a biologist.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Currently I ma working on a 3 rd children’s book and another field guide.

Which of your books did you most enjoy writing?

The first one was the easiest, although I prefer the art in the second, and I think that will be the same for the third.

What are you working on now? When do you expect to start submitting it to publishers?

I am working on a children’s book about the Eastern Tropical Pacific, an area where in recent years I have been spending a good deal of time. It is mostly about marine mammals but I hope the whole ecosystem. I am also working on a marine mammal guide for UC Press with some co-authors.

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

No.

Do you like to include humor in your stories? Or adventure? Or mystery?

 A little humor about doing field work is always welcome.

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

A sense of wonder about the natural world, that it is a place to be protected and to be inspired to follow their interests and dreams.

What other jobs you had before you became a writer/illustrator?

I have worked and travelled in many countries as a field biologist and bird/nature watcher, although now most of my work is on research vessels. My work is integral to my illustrating and writing.