I’m Stefanie, a writer from beautiful Perth, Western Australia.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved words and the worlds and characters they create.
More recently, my fascination with family history helped form my debut novel Daughters of Batavia, which will be published by HarperCollins in 2025.
Thank you for visiting my site and please feel free to get in touch.
About Stefanie Koens
Stefanie Koens grew up in a large family in which books and story-telling were treasured. When her novel Daughters of Batavia was awarded the Banjo Prize in 2023, it was the fulfilment of a dream that began at the age of 12 when one of her short stories won a local writing competition.
Although she never lost her love for writing, Stefanie has worked as a teacher, tutor and office administrator.
Stefanie also loves history and is particularly fascinated by family stories, secrets and experiences that interweave past and present.
When she’s not writing, Stefanie loves spending time in the countryside and coast around her home in Perth, Western Australia, especially when this involves faith, family and friends. More often than not, Stefanie can be found absorbed in other writer’s stories.
Daughters of Batavia
Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, a hard-working English teacher who never does anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia’s remote Abrolhos Islands. She’s is in search of answers – both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.
Amsterdam, 1628. Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies – only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship’s reluctant under surgeon.
Tess, Saskia and Aris – their lives linked by secrets that span generations – carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures.
And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they find qualities that echo through centuries: faith, acceptance, and love.
Get In Touch
Got a question or just want to connect? I’d love to hear from you.