I’m Sophie Raynor—a freelance editor and writer from sunny Perth, Western Australia.
I help writers hone meaning and connect people through storytelling. I’ve spent a decade working across journalism, campaigning and not-for-profit communications in Perth, Melbourne, and tropical Timor-Leste, and now live in Melbourne’s leafy north providing writing, editing and proofreading services to people doing good.
My background
After finishing undergraduate degrees in law and arts, I started a staff writing job at Perth’s slick lifestyle magazine publisher Scoop Publishing. There, I wrote and edited articles about the not-for-profits, social enterprises, and community workers who shared my enthusiasm for doing good.
When the section was cut, I switched gears—growing a then-casual volunteering gig into a full-time role working in advocacy and fundraising communications for the youth-run anti-poverty campaign Live Below the Line.
A filmmaking trip for that role to tropical Timor-Leste proved pivotal, and on my return home I boxed up my jackets and returned for two sun-soaked years abroad. I drank a lot of coconuts, learnt passable Tetun, started scuba diving, and wrote 200+ posts on my personal blog Sophie Rai Liur.
As a native-English-speaking writer living in Dili, I attracted the attention of editors seeking coverage of Timor-Leste. While living abroad I filed freelance articles for Al Jazeera, Crikey, New Naratif, Southeast Asia Globe, the Lowy Institute's Interpreter, Eureka Street, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia and others, and caught the thrill of chasing a story. On my return home I enrolled in a journalism degree to build skills that gave justice to the opportunities I’d been given and the communities whose stories I was able to share. I graduated with distinction at the end of 2020.
Today, my part-time day job is in media and communications at an Aboriginal not-for-profit, and my Wednesdays off involve volunteering in a community garden, laps at the Fitzroy pool, and freelance proofreading and editing work for clients like ActionAid, IWDA and ACFID. Learn more about me or get in touch.
An acknowledgement of Country
I was raised on stolen Wadjuk Noongar Boodjar and now live on and work on stolen Wurundjeri Bik. I aim to tread lightly here and respect Country—acknowledging the deep and enduring stories and songlines of the places I call home. As a writer I know words matter, but they must be backed with action. 10% of every invoice goes in solidarity to Pay the Rent.