Meet the Author
Rowan Nash (he/him) is a Montreal-based writer and animal handler whose passion for nature and words has taken root in all parts of his life. Since graduating in environmental and wildlife management, his reverence for animals both domestic and wild has kept him ever-eager to understand every facet of the natural world, from the bare bones of skull identification to translating the inner thoughts of the four-legged companions who share our homes. This keen interest has only sharpened with time, leading Rowan to pour his passion into various pursuits, such as nature education, wildlife rehabilitation, domestic pet training, and animal adoption efforts.
Rowan sees the world as interconnected, and knows that words are no different. His writing journey began with novels and poetry, but has since branched out to other styles, such as educational, technical, and content writing, as well as editing and narrative design for creative pieces. His passion for teaching has equally followed him to each step of his career, by providing a wide variety of written works, including species-specific wildlife care guides, technical documentation, instructional onboarding manuals, animal nutrition manuals, and even self-designed interactive ecology presentations. At present, he’s working on a comprehensive field guide for the Montreal area, which is planned to cover everything from trees to toads!
To hone his skill, he’s attended more than 1,000 hours of university-level writing courses, various technical and UX courses hosted by experts in the field, and a host of ecology and animal behaviour classes. He’s also been published as winner of a writing contest, was accepted into a post-graduate screenwriting & narrative design program, and regularly uses compassionate communication to help pets be better understood by their human companions. He’s worked alongside and managed teams for non-profits and large-scale companies alike, but regardless of whether his intended audience is human or wild, he always brings his work back down to the base level: Who sees the words? How will it affect them? And how best to translate a vision into reality?
Motivated best when working where nature, teaching, and empathy converge, Rowan believes that every chance to learn is a chance to grow. Currently, he’s working on his next novel, while helping several LGBT and neurodivergent authors to do the same. Anytime he’s not writing, he can be found hiking and animal tracking out in the wilderness, studying a new language, or tacking another title onto his CKC-certified circus act of a cat.
Experience, Education & Achievements
See LinkedIn for further details. -
EXPERIENCE: 15+ years
— Wildlife Rehabilitator - Urban Animal Advocates: 1 year
— Nature Educator & Guide - Arundel Nature & Science Center: 1 year
— Asst. Veterinary Technician & Receptionist - Timberlea Veterinary Clinic & Liesse Animal Clinic: 5 years
— Pet Care Specialist (Nutrition, Grooming, Behaviour) - Mondou: 4 years
— Canine Behaviour Consultant - Self-Employed: 5+ years
— Wildlife Management (Mammal Trapping, Bird Banding, Electrofishing, Invertebrate Surveying, Radio Telemetry, etc.) - EWM: 3 years
— Environmental Management (Soil Sampling, Limnology, Forestry, Ecocartography, etc.) - EWM: 3 years
— Collection Curator’s Assistant - Redpath Museum: 1 year
— 15 years’ experience writing content for public education, ecology, wildlife sustainability & co-habitation, and domestic animal training & handling.
— Member of Bird Protection Quebec, Montreal Field Naturalists & AQFA (Association québécoise des fauconniers & autoursiers).EDUCATION
— Environmental & Wildlife Management degree
— Various courses hosted by the NCC (Nature Conservancy of Canada)
— Wilderness First Aid & CPR
— 13th Canadian handler to be awarded Feline ITD title (CKC-recognized) -
EXPERIENCE: 7 years
— Technical Writer - LGI Healthcare Solutions: 2 years
— Technical Writer - Osio Labs: 1 year
— Technical Writer - Mondou: 1 year
— Technical Writer - Urban Animal Advocates Wildlife Rehab Center: 1 year
— Canine Education Author - Self-Employed: 2 years
— Daily UX Writing ChallengeEDUCATION
— JPDocu Technical Writing School - Software Documentation
— University of Colorado Boulder - Technical Written Skills
— Dr. Katharina Grimm - Introduction to Technical Writing
— John Hinchliffe - Complete Instructional Designer
— Dr. Katharina Grimm - Introduction to UX Writing
— Joe Natoli - UX Strategy Fundamentals
— 1000+ hours of university writing courses: editing, tone, genre, audience, etc. -
EXPERIENCE: 5 years
— Content Writer & Public Educator - Arundel Nature & Science Center: 1 year
— Content Writer - Foster a Child to Excel in Society (non-profit): 2 years
— Social Media Content Writer - Timberlea Veterinary Clinic: 1 year
— Content Writer - ClearEstate: 1 yearEDUCATION
— 1000+ hours of university writing courses: editing, tone, genre, audience, etc. -
EXPERIENCE: 12 years
— Editor & Writing Coach - Self-Employed: 4 years
— Speculative Fiction Author - Self-Employed: 8 yearsEDUCATION
— Wesleyan University - Creative Writing
— Michigan State University - Novel Writing
— 1000+ hours of university writing courses: editing, tone, genre, audience, etc. -
SKILLS
— Language: English (Fluent), French (Fluent), Finnish (A2), Russian (A1).
— Writing: Educational, technical, scientific, content, creative, copywriting, documentation, editing, translation.
— Software: MS Office, word processors, Miro, Figma, design, retail, veterinary, game design software, ArcView GIS, GitHub, Paligo, RoboHelp.
— General: Public education, research, data analysis, laboratory writing, client service, team management, communication, collaboration, organization, problem-solving. detail-oriented, curiosity, innovation.PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
— Published as winner of college-level writing contest.
— Novel personally selected for publication by developmental editor.
— Helping upcoming authors develop their creative voice and stories.
— 13th Canadian handler to be awarded CKC Intermediate Trick Title for a cat.