Over the past twelve months, the Stella team has grown to include a vast list of the region’s top writers, photographers, artists, and ideas people. We’ve been blessed to meet and work with oodles of inspiring people, working their soles off their shoes to feed their souls; people passionate about art, culture, fashion, agriculture, careers, healthy lifestyles, innovation, stability, and not least – our communities. The energy is infectious and we are looking ahead with enormous smiles plastered to our faces. A common thread through more than one of our interviews this issue is the impact of children’s library project Buk bilong Pikinini, which we cannot talk enough about. As well, Kirsten McGavin (aka Write Meri) makes us all antsy to hop on a plane to Hawaii, Jennifer Baing continues to challenge us to be ever mindful about the politics of food, Victoria Yarka shoots two amazing contemporary Papua New Guinean artists Jeffrey Feeger and Ngaiire Joseph and some new contributors of the male persuasion voice their impressions behind the struggle for gender equality in contemporary Papua New Guinea.