Jane Rogoyska is a writer whose work explores themes of conflict, exile, identity, memory and politics. She has a particular interest in the turbulent period between the 1930s and the beginning of the Cold War in Europe, with a recent focus on Poland’s wartime and post-war experience.
Jane studied Modern Languages at Cambridge University and film direction at the NSFTV in Leeds and the Polish National Film School in Łódź, working extensively as a filmmaker before deciding to focus on her own research. She has now written three full-length books and collaborated on a series of connected projects in radio, film, theatre and photography. Her first book, the critically-acclaimed 'Gerda Taro: Inventing Robert Capa', charts the life of the first female photojournalist to be killed on the front line of battle during the Spanish Civil War. Her research into the 1940 Katyń Massacre of 22,000 Polish prisoners of war by the Soviet secret police led to her first novel, 'Kozłowski', long-listed for the 2020 Desmond Elliott Prize, and her most recent non-fiction book, 'Surviving Katyń'.
Jane regularly teaches directing and screenwriting to students at all levels with an emphasis on practical filmmaking skills. For three years she was a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Greenwich University, the Royal College of Music and the School for Advanced Studies, helping undergraduate and postgraduate students improve their academic writing.