SJ (Sarah) Groenewegen BEM was born in Sydney, Australia, to a Dutch father and an Australian mother. They nurtured in SJ a love of books, politics, and history. SJ migrated to the UK in 2004, and from 2020 has made a home in Scotland.
SJ is the author of the novels: The Disinformation War (GoldSF), Lethbridge-Stewart: A Most Haunted Man and Lethbridge-Stewart: Daughters of Earth (Candy Jar), the Black Archive monograph on Doctor Who's Face the Raven (Obverse Books), and of numerous essays on Doctor Who, SFF, gaming, and being queer. SJ's short fiction has won awards (Scarlet Stiletto in 2002), appeared in Big Finish’s Doctor Who Short Trips range and the Lethbridge-Stewart Havoc Files and UNIT anthologies, as well as various standalone collections.
The Disinformation War was on the long list for Best Novel in the British Science Fiction Association Awards 2023.
In 2023, SJ was voted onto the committee for the Society of Authors in Scotland and is presently serving as the Secretary.
SJ publishes an article about politics every Monday and a piece about writing every Thursday on Ko-Fi.
SJ often appears at SFF conventions (including WorldCon and the British Eastercon) as a panellist and moderator. Before leaving Australia, SJ was part of the team responsible for many of the successful Whovention Doctor Who fan conventions. SJ speaks on policing/law enforcement in SF, military SF, Doctor Who, fan studies, own voices (SJ is queer and autistic), disinformation, writing, and politics.
In 2016, SJ was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to law enforcement and LGBTQIA diversity. For 20 years, SJ worked as an intelligence analyst in several law enforcement and criminal justice agencies around the world. SJ is trained and experienced in critical thinking, project management, and government policy development. SJ is a passionate advocate for human rights, particularly of LGBTQIA and neurodivergent people. SJ is a committee member of the Autism Rights Group Highland (ARGH).
SJ has a Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in political science from the Australian National University (specialising in international relations, European political history, and impartiality in publicly owned broadcasting), and a Master’s in Cultural/Media Studies from the University of Western Sydney (Australia), specialising in Doctor Who and its fans from queer and feminist perspectives.
SJ currently lives in the Highlands of Scotland and enjoys long loch-side walks, taking photographs, and the occasional wee dram of a peat-smoke flavoured whisky.
SJ can be found on these social media sites:
Please use the form below to contact SJ.
Or write to: SJ Groenewegen, Unit 493, 8 Church Street, Inverness, IV1 1EA, Scotland, United Kingdom.