Unpacking for Greece published June 2023! Join Sally as she embarks on a solo journey across the magnificent Greek mainland and islands.

When Sally sets out for Europe with her mother’s 1978 travel diary in her pocket, she is searching for the wanderlust she lost in a devastating overseas road accident.
As she ventures into the heart of the Mediterranean – wandering volatile landscapes, exploring historical sites, pairing books with places and savouring the tastes of Greece – she finds it is possible for a clumsy, out-of-shape woman on a budget to experience a life-changing journey.
In a story told with warmth, humour and a fascination with Greece’s natural and cultural heritage, Sally connects with her past, overcomes her fears and falls in love with life again, one olive at a time.
Book One in the ‘Packing for Greece’ series travels to Athens and Meteora on the mainland; Monemvasia, Sparta and Methana on the Peloponnese Peninsula; and the islands of Santorini and Rhodes.
“Eleven-Thirty” – Sally’s experimental exploration of travel and grief – placed as a finalist in the Newcastle Short Story Award 2022.
In “Eleven-Thirty”, a young woman’s ashes journey from Hanoi to Cape Town, while an older woman flees into the Turkish hinterland in a futile attempt to outrun her loss. The story appears in the award anthology published by the Hunter Writers’ Centre.

- Book review of The Spill by Imbi Neeme, shortlisted in the Writing NSW book review competition, February 2022
- “Tackling the Professional Edit: An Emerging Author’s First Experience” in Women’s Ink! Spring/Summer edition, November 2021
- “Some Leafs: Grandma Gropp’s Tale” – published in the anthology Itchy Feet: Tales of Travel and Adventure in September 2021 – weaves Sally Jane Smith’s words with those of her great-great-grandmother, a woman who led an extraordinary life on four continents and at the edges of three wars. From a message in a 19th-century bottle to a modern-day tragedy, “Some Leafs” asks: should we follow our wanderlust, or stay safe at home?

Twenty intrepid authors share their adventures with you in this anthology of travel stories.
Read Itchy Feet now to travel around the world from the comfort of your armchair. No passport required.
Selection of podcasts and video
- Podcast: Travel to the eastern Peloponnese and Saronic islands, Greece – Amateur Traveler Episode 833, 22 January 2023
- Podcast: Travel to Athens, Greece – Amateur Traveler Episode 832, 15 January 2023
- YouTube: In Conversation with Laura Maya, author of Tell Them My Name, 27 October 2022
- YouTube: JourneyWoman Writers’ Circle, 25 May 2023
Selection of guest blogs and online collaborations:
- “Carving Joy from Grief Writing” in Brevity Blog, 13 September 2022.
- Interviewee in “A New Author’s Perspective on the Editing Process: An Interview With Sally Jane Smith” for NY Book Editors, 3 February 2021
- “One Travel Writer’s Journey for a Professional Line Edit: Part Three” in Birds of a Feather Press, 17 November 2020
- “One Travel Writer’s Journey for a Professional Line Edit: Part Two” in Birds of a Feather Press, 6 October 2020
- Interviewee in “A Cautionary Tale: JourneyWomen Who Never Leave Home Without Travel Insurance” for JourneyWoman, 16 September 2020
- “One Travel Writer’s Journey for a Professional Line Edit: Part One” in Birds of a Feather Press, 4 September 2020
- “Failing NaNoWriMo” in Suz’s Space, 23 June 2020, syndicated in Toorak Times on 24 June 2020
- “Talking Location with Author Sally Jane Smith – Historic Istanbul” in TripFiction.com, 2 November 2019
Older works, published in print:
- Adaptations of literary classics for the SABIS Anthology Series for Grades Three to Nine, used as a teaching resource for students in more than forty SABIS schools on four continents, 2008 (written as a staff writer, without a byline)
- “Peru-ving a Point” in Gulf News Friday Magazine, 5 May 2006
- (with Fourie, T.) “Peru’s Heritage, South Africa’s Treasure” in Vuka SA, Volume 2, Number 3, 1997
- “Indigenous Jewellery” in Vuka SA, Volume 2, Number 2, 1997
- “Ancient Peruvian Ceramics – the Chancay Tradition” in National Ceramics Quarterly, Number 39, 1997
- (with Du Preez, C.) “The Madiba Freedom Museum” in Vuka SA, Volume 1, Number 2, 1995