BBC Radio 4 Book Of The Week | Winner of First Book of the Year at Scotland’s National Book Awards
"‘Night Train to Odesa’ is a remedy for reading about wartime despair... Stout’s openness about her preparations for traveling deeper into Ukraine, and her candidness about moments of personal vulnerability when speaking to Ukrainians about the ways in which they are victims of Russia’s war, is both admirable and vital to the growing literature on wartime reporting."
About Night Train to Odesa
When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, millions of lives changed in an instant.
Millions of people were suddenly on the move.
In this great flow of people was a reporter from the north of Scotland. Jen Stout left Moscow abruptly, ending up on a border post in southeast Romania, from where she began to cover the human cost of Russian aggression.
Her first-hand, vivid reporting brought the war home to readers in Scotland as she reported from front lines and cities across Ukraine.
Stories from the night trains, birthday parties, military hospitals and bunkers: stories from the ground, from a writer with a deep sense of empathy, always seeking to understand the bigger picture, the big questions of identity, history, hopes and fears in this war in Europe.
Upcoming Events
The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool
Sat 31st May 8pm
Highland Book Prize longlist event w/Kirsteen Bell
Borders Book Festival
Thurs 12th June, 5pm
Dundee Book Festival
Sunday 15th June, 3pm
Steps Theatre, Central Library, The Wellgate, Dundee
St Magnus Festival, Orkney
Mon 23rd June, 5.30pm
Kirkwall Baptist Church
Islay Book Festival
Late August - TBC
Nairn Book & Arts Festival
7th September, 3pm
Hereford Military History Festival
27th September, 12.30pm
Bookmark Book Festival, Blairgowrie
4th October, 3pm
For bookings and media enquiries contact Birlinn
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PAST EVENTS:
Thurs 10th April, New York City
US paperback launch, Ukrainian Institute of America
Fri 11th April, 12.30pm at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University - register here
Sat 12th April, 7pm, at Brookline Booksmith
Transnational Literature Series with Emily Channell-Justice co-sponsored by HURI
Sun 13th April, 5.30pm, private book club evening in DC - contact for invites.
Mon 14th April, 2pm, at the Atlantic Council, Washington D.C.
Book launch for Night Train to Odesa: Covering the Human Cost of Russia’s War - also livestreamed on Youtube
Tues 15th April, 3pm, at the Leavey Center, Georgetown University
Georgetown University Ukrainian Society talk with Professor George Mihaychuk - Registration page
Wed 16th April, 2pm, CEPA panel on humanitarian impact of war in Ukraine - Invite only
Thurs 17th April, 6pm, Reading at People's Book, 7014-A Westmoreland Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912. Free registration
Sat 19th April, TBC, Reading at Old Capitol Books, Monterey - link coming soon
Thurs 24th April, 4pm, Panelist at Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Ukraine: From Battlefield to Bargaining Table? Samuel Charap, Alina Polyakova, Jen Stout, and Ivo Daalder discuss the current state of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing attempts to end the conflict. Free registration.
Monday 28th April, 8.30-10am, Global Ties Detroit / Oakland University
Beyond the Headlines: Jen Stout on Writing, Witnessing, and War
Tues 29th April, 5-6.30pm, Talk and book signing at World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth,
325 N. St. Paul Street, Suite 4200. Tickets
Thurs 1st May, 6-8pm, guest speaker at Spring Forward: Honoring Champions of Global Exchange, Washington, D.C.
Free tickets, register at Eventbrite
"Jen Stout's heart-seizing account of Ukraine at war brings us that nation's living presence like no other book. She puts across not just the tragedy but the astonishing vigour and colour of a people determined to live generously and joyfully under bombardment. 'Night Train' is three-dimensional: Jen Stout's book is not just a report of darkened cities and piteous survivors, but a highly personal journal of one young Scot's first experiences of war. As a freelance journalist, speaking Russian and learning Ukrainian, she found vivid friendships near the front line and in Ukraine's magnificent battered but majestic cities. Not all of those friends survived. It's not just Jen's reporting but the way she chronicles her own turbulent feelings which make 'Night Train to Odesa' so moving and unforgettable."
Neal Ascherson, journalist, author, expert on central and eastern Europe
Meet the Author
Jen Stout
Jen Stout is a journalist, writer, and radio producer from Scotland, frequently working in Ukraine.
Originally from Shetland she has lived in Germany and Russia.
Her empathetic and vivid coverage on the deportations in Kharkiv region was shortlisted for an Amnesty Media Award.
Her first book, Night Train to Odesa, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and won the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award.
Interviews
Jen Stout: 'Night Train To Odesa'
Jen Stout - Covering the War in Ukraine with Empathy for the Human Struggle and Cost of Russia's War
