About me
“Frighteningly talented,” wrote an anonymous judge who recommended me for an award once. I’m dutifully trying to live up to that. :)
I’m a writer and researcher specializing in environmental and historical topics. I like asking good questions, and answering them with clear analyses and dogged reporting. My work has been published in both peer-reviewed journals, like American Naturalist, and popular magazines, like Sierra, Alternet, MAKE, Air & Space/Smithsonian, GOOD, and E: the Environmental Magazine. I also coauthored the book Knitalong, a celebration of the social aspects of craft.
Hopefully the samples on these pages will speak for themselves. If you need more bio or contact info, read on.
I trained at McGill University, worked in ecological research for the Smithsonian, and lead-authored several papers in major journals with only an undergraduate degree. I’ve long worked as a consultant for ecological researchers at federal agencies like the Forest Service, doing statistical designs and data analyses. For more information on my qualifications and availability look here.
I’m also occupied with popular writing. Most of my feature articles are “reported essays” combining hard research and expressive writing, but in addition I’ve coauthored two books, on nonprofit fundraising and crafty social networks, and won artistic fellowships from the Millay Colony (for fiction), the New York Mills Arts & Cultural Center (for fiction), Southern Oregon University’s Walden Fellowship program (for nonfiction), the Puffin Foundation (for a collaborative project with homeless youth), and Oregon Literary Arts (work for younger readers).
Currently I am working on several book and consulting projects. You can contact me at dumbmailATmartinjohnbrownDOTnet .
Cheers, Martin