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 OAM 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 through her multi-award-winning Heritage Heroes series. Published by the National Library of Australia, these historical novels combine storytelling with historical information. The five books in the series have 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, such as the award-winning Australia’s Wild Weird Wonderful Weather and Sensational Australian Animals. She has also reviewed and edited a range of 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. She lives in Canberra, Australia, in a house full of books. And she is the mother of three adult children, including twins, and the proud and doting 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 she was an Ambassador for their 80th Birthday celebrations in 2025.

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 Stephanie will not be doing school visits in 2026, except for those organised by the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge.

RECENT TITLES

Worlds of Wonder: Celebrating the Great Classics of Children’s Literature

(Contributor), Edited by Daniel Hahn (Melbourne University Press, October 2025)

Rakali of the Riverbank

Illustrated by RACHEL GREGG (CSIRO Publishing, July 2025)

Peculiar Parents

Illustrated by INGRID BARTKOWIAK (NLA Publishing, July 2025)