Send us a text Australian author Sally Jane Smith is one of nine writers recognized in the Greek-Australian Cultural League of Melbourne’s 2024 Book Awards. Her debut travel memoir, Unpacking for Greece, was awarded First Prize in the ‘Prose in English’ category. When asked how she felt on receiving the news, Smith said, “It was staggering. I wrote the Packing for Greece series for tourists, never expecting that the philoxenia I experienced as a traveler in Greece would resurface in this wonderful support from Greeks around the world. To see my name listed with those of so many accomplished Greek-Australian writers is an indescribable honor.” When Smith first set out for Greece with her mother’s 1978 travel diary in her pocket, she was searching for the wanderlust she’d lost in a devastating overseas road accident. As she ventured into the heart of the Mediterranean – wandering volatile landscapes, exploring historical sites, pairing books with places and savoring the tastes of Greece – she found it was possible for a clumsy, out-of-shape woman on a budget to experience a life-changing journey. This is the story that became Unpacking for Greece, published in 2023 and named a ‘Reading Greece Book of the Month’ by Greek government website Greek News Agenda. Smith said that connecting with Greek readers has become the most rewarding aspect of her writing. Highlights include online book clubs and literary get-togethers with the Hellenic American Women’s Council in Chicago, the Hellenic Cultural Society of South Florida, and the Greek Elder Care Network in New York City. Smith also headlined an ‘In Conversation with the Author’ event with Lonely Planet Greece author Paul Hellander in Adelaide, Australia, hosted by Festival Hellenika. “When I visited Canada recently and stumbled across the Greek International Film Festival Tour in Vancouver, I was deeply moved by the welcome I received. Then in October, the Hellenic Professional Women Inc. book club got together in a Manhattan bar to discuss Unpacking for Greece. I never forget what a privilege it is to be included in events like these, and I love it when groups ask me to Zoom in to their gatherings. As a non-Greek who owes a great deal to Greece – the country that gave me my kefi back and turned me into a writer – I feel enormous gratitude.” Smith’s second book is also garnering attention in literary circles. Repacking for Greece, published this year, was shortlisted by Australia’s Society of Women Writers NSW for a non-fiction book award. Together, the two-book series travels to sixteen unforgettable destinations across the Greek mainland and islands: Athens, Delphi and Meteora on the Greek mainland; Monemvasia, Sparta, Nafplio, Mycenae, Epidavros and Methana on the Peloponnese Peninsula; and the islands of Santorini, Rhodes, Hydra, Aegina, Poros, Kefalonia and Corfu.
