Sally Jane Smith has lived on five continents and visited thirty-three countries, but she gives credit to Greece for turning her into a writer. She has worked in museums, universities, a language institute, a residence for people with disabilities, an art gallery, a primary school and a wildlife park. She also co-hosts two book clubs and assists the organisers of a biennial book-themed convention. She is currently based in Australia.

In 2006, the bus on which she was travelling through Sri Lanka suffered a head-on collision, breaking both her body and her spirit. A decade on, she journeyed to Greece in a quest to recover her wanderlust – and proved it is possible for an out-of-shape, middle-aged woman on a budget, equipped only with a guidebook and her mother’s 1978 travel diary, to experience a life-changing adventure. This is the story that became Unpacking for Greece, now available in the Gallery gift shop. 

Sally’s life writing also appears in the anthologies Itchy Feet: Tales of Travel and Adventure and the Newcastle Short Story Award Anthology 2022. She was awarded First Place Non-Fiction in the Port Writers Open Literary Competition 2021, and shortlisted by the Society of Women Writers NSW in their National Writing Competition 2022. Her bylines include Gulf News, TripFiction, Women’s Ink!, Brevity Blog and JourneyWoman.

Connect with Sally on social media as @JourneysInPages or find out more at www.SallyJaneSmith.com