About
Sophia Hotung 何慧恩
Sophia Hotung is a Hong Kong Eurasian writer, illustrator, and disability advocate. She is the creator behind The Hong Konger art collection and various children’s and adult fiction and non-fiction centred on Hong Kong.
Her artwork has been exhibited and sold at the Digital Art Asia, the Affordable Art Fair, Sotheby’s auction, and across various Hong Kong galleries including Oi Ling Antiques, Wyndham Social, and the Hong Kong Arts Collective.
Sophia predominantly focuses on writing literary fiction that examines in-between identities within disabled, Eurasian, and women communities. She enjoys infusing her work with satire and social commentary of contemporary technological and political developments, and likes to borrow from and subvert other genres including thrillers, horror, and mystery.
As a disability speaker, Sophia focuses on developing new ways for chronic illness patients and their communities to rethink invisible disabilities. Her December 2024 TEDx talk with Jessica Chan on invisible disabilities and visible differences has been selected as a TEDx Editor’s Pick and will be released later in 2025. The talk explores the taboos society has inadvertently constructed around medical limitations and offers new approaches to talking to, working with, and including disabled and differently abled people.
Sophia lives in San Francisco, where she is seeking literary representation for her writing. She continues to run her Hong Kong-based art business, Pangolin Society from abroad.


Recognitions
Visionary Women Awards
Harper's Bazaar, Hong Kong
Winner, 2025
Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow
Tatler Asia, Hong Kong
Winner, 2024
TimeOut Future Shapers
TimeOut Magazine, Hong Kong
Winner, 2024
Spirit of Hong Kong Culture Award
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
Winner, 2023
Young Changemaker Women of Influence Award
American Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong
Two-time Finalist, 2023 and 2022
Art Next International Artist Excellence Award
Art Next Expo, Hong Kong
Winner, 2021
W. Cabell Greet Prize
Barnard College, New York
Winner, 2018
Dan Smullyan Prize
Columbia Daily Spectator, New York
Winner, 2017
CV
Managing Director
Pangolin Society, Hong Kong
March 2021 onwards
Product Manager
KG Group, Hong Kong
June 2019 - September 2020
Junior Associate
Sard Verbinnen & Co, London
January 2019 - May 2019
Head of Service Journalism
Columbia Daily Spectator, New York
September 2014 - May 2017
Intern
Sard Verbinnen & Co, New York
June 2017 - July 2017
News Intern
Thomson Reuters, Hong Kong
June 2016 - July 2016
B.A. English Literature
Barnard College, Columbia University, New York
August 2014 - May 2018
Minors: Economics, History
GPA: 3.95 Summa Cum Laude
Departmental honours, 2 thesis distinctions, Phi Beta Kappa
