Nicholas Benbow Evans (26 July 1950 – 9 August 2022) was a notable British journalist, screenwriter, television and film producer, and novelist. He gained widespread recognition for his 1995 debut novel, The Horse Whisperer, which has sold over fifteen million copies and has been adapted into a successful film.

Born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, Evans was the son of Anthony Evans, who directed a motor engineering company, and Eileen (née Whitehouse). He attended Bromsgrove School, where he served as head boy. After a year teaching in Senegal with the charity Voluntary Service Overseas, he went on to achieve a first in law from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. Following his graduation, Evans began his career as a reporter for the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Evening Chronicle before joining London Weekend Television. There, he worked on programs such as Weekend World and The London Programme, eventually becoming the executive producer of The South Bank Show from 1982 to 1984. During this period, he also wrote and adapted screenplays for television.

In the early 1990s, Evans attempted to break into film production; however, his efforts were unsuccessful, leading The New York Times to describe him as "broke and adrift" at that time. He had also been diagnosed with melanoma but managed to recover. Amidst these challenges, a friend's story about a "horse whisperer" in southwest England who could heal and soothe horses inspired him. Facing £60,000 in debt, Evans decided to write this story as a novel rather than a screenplay, feeling disillusioned by his previous film endeavors. His research took him to the U.S. states of Montana, New Mexico, and California. In 1994, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, his agent and friend Caradoc King sold the rights to his novel for US$3 million.

The Horse Whisperer became a bestseller, ranking No. 10 on The New York Times' list of bestselling novels in the United States for 1995. With its 15 million copies sold, it ranks among the best-selling books of all time. In the UK, it was ranked 195 on the BBC's Big Read, a 2003 survey aimed at identifying the "nation's best-loved book." The novel was adapted into a film in 1998, directed by Robert Redford, who also starred alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson, and Sam Neill.

Evans later disclosed on his personal website that he had agreed to an option for a film adaptation of his third novel, The Smoke Jumper.