When author Julian Hoffman first arrived in Greece’s remote Prespa region, his Greek was “almost non-existent.” Walking became a form of literacy for him—a way to learn the language of the land by tracing the steps of others, reading stone walls, abandoned houses, plant communities, and animal tracks. “Walking was a way in,” he says, “a way to begin to belong.”
Today, walking remains central to Hoffman’s work as a nature writer documenting Prespa’s changing environment in books like Lifelines. The pace of walking allows him to attune himself to the subtly changing patterns of the landscape.
Julian will discuss how his walks around Prespa have shaped his latest writing, exploring how stories take root along borders, shorelines, and shifting terrains.
Julian Hoffman is a writer and naturalist living beside the Prespa lakes in northern Greece. Much of his work explores the relationships between humans and the natural world, alongside the cultures and communities of place, and is a blend of nature, travel, history and landscape. His books include Lifelines: Searching for Home in the Mountains of Greece, 2025. Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save our Wild Places and The Small Heart of Things. He moved to the Prespa region with his wife, Julia, in the summer of 2000.
Walking Writers Salons are hour-long events in which you will get to meet a Walking Writer and learn from them how they weave writing and walking, and how they interpret their surroundings. Each Salon will include a discussion with the author, inviting questions from the audience, and may include a short quiz or other challenge, in which a winner will receive a prize. We are very grateful to Elliott & Thompson publishers for offering two complimentary e-books of Lifelines as prizes.
Hosts
Walking Arts & Local Communities (WALC) is an artistic cooperation project, co-funded by the European Union, Creative Europe, starting in January 2024 for four years. With seven partners from five countries, WALC establishes an International Center for Artistic Research and Practice of Walking Arts, in Prespa, Greece, at the border with Albania and North Macedonia, backed up by an online counterpart in the format of a digital platform for walking arts.
WALC builds on the previous work of hundreds of artists and researchers already practicing Walking Arts as a collaborative medium, and having met at the significant previous walking arts events and encounters in Greece, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, and during online activities at walk · listen · create.
We acknowledge the support of the EU Creative Europe Cooperation grant program in the framework of the European project WALC (Walking Arts and Local Community).
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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