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Posted on January 31, 2017

The Story Whisperer

‘Stephanie Owen Reeder does some of the best narrative nonfiction and nonfiction books in the country’ (Megan Daley, co-presenter of Your Kids Next Read Podcast and author of Raising Readers)

Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder is a children’s author with an abiding love of books, art, history and the environment.

She was described by a film company executive as The Story Whisperer for the way she discovers and brings to life true stories from Australia’s past, especially through her multi-award-winning Heritage Heroes series. Published by the National Library of Australia, these historical novels combine storytelling with historical information. All five books in the series have recently been brought together in Courageous Kids and Their Amazing Adventures, along with two new true tales to amaze and inspire young readers.

Stephanie also writes award-winning picture books with an environmental theme, and she has reviewed and edited a range of both adult and children’s books. Before becoming a full-time author, Stephanie worked as a secondary school teacher, a librarian, a university lecturer and a Hansard Editor at Federal Parliament.

Stephanie lives in Canberra, Australia, in a house full of books. She is the mother of three adult children, including twins, and the grandmother of two grandsons and one grand-daughter, all of whom inspire her writing.

AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Stephanie has been involved in Australian Children’s Literature since the 1980s as a reviewer, editor, academic, critic, mentor, advocate, author and illustrator. She was the recipient of the CBCA Laurie Copping Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature in the ACT in 2019, and she has been an Ambassador for the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge since 2021. Stephanie is also a life member of the Children’s Book Council of Australia and an Ambassador for the 80th Birthday of the Children’s Book Council of Australia.

TEACHING RESOURCES

For a comprehensive collection of activities based on Stephanie’s books, see the Teaching Resources and Activities for Kids page.

CONTACT STEPHANIE

Email: mailto:stephaniereeder@bigpond.com

Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Stephanie-Owen-Reeder-Author-590960751068847/?fref=ts)

Please note that due to heavy workloads, with multiple new books on the go, Stephanie will not be doing school visits in 2025, except for those organised by the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge.