Galah: Stories of life outside the city

Here, across six themed chapters, journalist Annabelle Hickson shares a different perspective on life in regional Australia, featuring stories from the coast to the farms, from the bush to the towns, from the rainforest to the outback. Annabelle brings together the best work from more than 50 leading writers, photographers and artists from her award-winning magazine, celebrating not only incredible landscapes and remarkable, beautiful places, but also the diversity, resourcefulness and creativity of the people that call the country home.

Galah's editor Annabelle Hickson didn't plan to live in regional Australia, but she fell in love with a handsome farmer from western NSW, so she thought she'd give it a shot. She knew there'd be some sacrifices - her journalism career at The Australian, the beach and takeaway food that is still hot by the time you get home - but she had no idea how many opportunities there would be for her in this new life too. While her husband Ed planted pecan trees, Annabelle looked after their three young children, wrote a regular monthly column at Country Style Magazine and published a book A Tree in the House that has been sold all over the world.

Annabelle began to learn what it was to be part of a community, all in it together. Everywhere she looked she saw smart, clever and resilient people who talked about opportunities instead of limitations. This was in stark contrast to the simple-country-people stereotypes she'd bought into in the city.

Twelve years after moving west, as the 2019-2020 drought eased, Annabelle wanted to read stories from regional Australia that weren't about disadvantage. Lack of water, lack of jobs, and lack in general were all real, but they were not the only narrative from regional Australia. Annabelle also wanted to hear stories that reflected her own sense of luck at being able to live out of the city. She wanted to read about beauty and freedom and opportunities. She wanted a publication that assumed people in regional Australia were a smart and increasingly diverse lot, who cared about community and creativity and the environment, as well as profitability. And she wanted a publication that acted as a bridge between the city and country divide. So, she made Galah the magazine. It is born in book form from that widely acclaimed, much beloved biannual magazine. A best of, if you like, of that singular ongoing print project.