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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.

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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

Bookazine
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