Tuesday 15 September 2026
 10.1°C   NW Moderate Breeze
Ukraine invasion /

Shetlander gets book deal for her stories of Ukraine

Jen Stout. Photo: Polygen

SHETLAND WRITER and journalist Jen Stout has had her book picked up by publisher Polygon.

Night Train to Odesa: Covering the Cost of Russia’s War will be published in spring next year.

Stout was in Russia for a fellowship programme upon the outbreak of the war in 2022.

She moved on to Ukraine to cover the conflict as a freelance journalist.

Now back in Shetland she is working on publishing a “deeply human” collection of stories that she experienced during her time there.

The book’s description says it will include “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”.

Stout said: “I had no idea what was ahead when I packed a bag and left Moscow overnight a few days after the invasion.

“I ended up covering a war, in a country I love, and learning every day from this experience and the people I met.

“I’m so happy to be working with Polygon to tell this story.”

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