Julian Hoffman

*WINNER OF THE ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE'S RUNCIMAN AWARD 2026Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize‘Magical... A book that will refresh your soul.’ Carol Drinkwater, author of The Olive Farm___ THE TRUE STORY OF A COURAGEOUS LEAP INTO A NEW LIFE (moved this to be top of descript) In 2000, burnt out by city living, Julian Hoffman and his wife Julia took a bold step: they left everything behind and moved to Prespa in northern Greece – a remote landscape of vast lakes, snow-capped mountains and stone villages. Here, their seasons are punctuated by unforgettable encounters, including nesting summer pelicans, a springtime stare-down with a bear and a winter meeting with fourteen tiny birds above a frozen doorway. Lifelines is a story of new beginnings – of searching for home in an unfamiliar place, finding community across borders and truly finding your place in the world.  ‘I was enthralled and won't be the only reader making travel plans.’ Gaia Vince AN FT BEST SUMMER BOOKAn inspiring read about moving abroad and starting life again. Set amongst the beautiful Greek landscape. Full of soul-warming encounters with the natural world. The perfect summer read to take on holiday, an ideal non-fiction beach book.  ‘An inspiring call to throw caution to the wind … Lifelines is not just beautiful, it is quite literally encouraging. It will make you brave.’ Observer‘This remarkable book describes Julian and Julia's odyssey as they meet others on similar quests to find home, be they bears, pelicans or humans.’ Lee Durrell, MBE

AN FT BEST SUMMER BOOK Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize‘Quite magical... A book that will refresh your soul.’ Carol Drinkwater, author of The Olive FarmTHE TRUE STORY OF A COURAGEOUS LEAP INTO A NEW LIFE___In 2000, burnt out by city living, Julian Hoffman and his wife Julia took a bold step: they left everything behind and moved to Prespa in northern Greece – a remote landscape of vast lakes, snow-capped mountains and stone villages. Here, their seasons were punctuated by unforgettable encounters, including nesting summer pelicans, a springtime stare-down with a bear and a winter meeting with fourteen tiny birds above a frozen doorway. Lifelines is the story of beginning again – of making a home in an unfamiliar place, finding community across borders and discovering belonging in the rhythms of a new land. It is a luminous reminder to seek life at its fullest. ___‘An inspiring call to throw caution to the wind … Lifelines is not just beautiful, it is quite literally encouraging. It will make you brave.’ Observer‘This remarkable book describes Julian and Julia's odyssey as they meet others on similar quests to find home, be they bears, pelicans or humans.’ Lee Durrell, MBE‘I was enthralled and won't be the only reader making travel plans.’ Gaia Vince

All across the world, irreplaceable habitats are under threat. Unique ecosystems of plants and animals are being destroyed by human intervention. From the tiny to the vast, from marshland to meadow, and from Kent to Glasgow to India to America, they are disappearing. Irreplaceable is not only a love letter to the haunting beauty of these landscapes and the wild species that call them home, including nightingales, lynxes, hornbills, redwoods and elephant seals, it is also a timely reminder of the vital connections between humans and nature, and all that we stand to lose in terms of wonder and wellbeing. This is a book about the power of resistance in an age of loss; a testament to the transformative possibilities that emerge when people come together to defend our most special places and wildlife from extinction. Exploring treasured coral reefs and remote mountains, tropical jungle and ancient woodland, urban allotments and tallgrass prairie, Julian Hoffman traces the stories of threatened places around the globe through the voices of local communities and grassroots campaigners as well as professional ecologists and academics. And in the process, he asks what a deep emotional relationship with place offers us - culturally, socially and psychologically. In this rigorous, intimate and impassioned account, he presents a powerful call to arms in the face of unconscionable natural destruction.

For readers of George Monbiot, Mark Cocker and Robert Macfarlane - an urgent and lyrical account of endangered places around the globe and the people fighting to save them.