The new book
Undefeatable Odesa in Love and War
A lover's portrait of a city he has known for thirty years, and an eyewitness account of Ukraine under Russia's full-scale invasion. Called "an absolutely fascinating and absorbing memoir" by William Boyd.
Reviews for Undefeatable
“Undefeatable is an absolutely fascinating and absorbing memoir of one writer’s relationship with a city and its people. Powerful, cogent, humane and scarifying – Julian Evans has written a modern classic”
William Boyd “This is an important book, not just an eyewitness account of a country besieged, but a chronicle of the war, with helpful background both literary and political. Its great achievement is presenting its human face – resolute and heroic”
Paul Theroux “Evans is a wonderful writer and observer, a stylist as elegant and free-wheeling as the late Jonathan Raban. Each paragraph has a lapidary charm”
Luke Harding, Observer
Writer, broadcaster and translator, between the Pacific, Europe and the Black Sea
Julian Evans grew up on Australia's east coast and in south London. His first book, Transit of Venus, was described as "far and away the best book about the Pacific of our times". He is the author of Semi-Invisible Man, the acclaimed biography of Norman Lewis, and writes for the Guardian, Prospect, the Times Literary Supplement and L'Atelier du Roman.
- Académie Française Prizefor the Advancement of French Literature
- The Romantic Road20-part BBC Radio 3 series on the rise of the European novel
- José Saramago: a Life of ResistanceBBC Four film
- Three decades in Odesathe city at the heart of Undefeatable
Writes for
Books
All books
Writing and media
Journalism for the British and French press, documentaries for BBC radio and television, and translation from the French.
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Journalism
Essays and reporting for the Guardian, Prospect, the TLS and L'Atelier du Roman.
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Radio and podcasts
The Romantic Road, the 20-part Radio 3 series on the European novel, and other broadcasts.
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Film
José Saramago: a Life of Resistance, written and presented for BBC Four.
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Translation
Literary translation from the French.
Teaching
Write at Garavicchio 2026
Write at Garavicchio 2027 details coming soon
Set in a beautiful Tuscan villa on the historic Garavicchio estate, Write at Garavicchio is a week-long course for writers at all stages who are interested in creative non-fiction: autobiography, biography, memoir, travel, history, food, landscape, nature and more.
14th – 22nd May 2026. The price of the week’s course (8 nights, 7 days) is £2695 (€3075).