Rowan Hand is a screenwriter and expert on the philosophy of narrative structure. He is one of modern film’s most approachable voices regarding writing practice and the intersection of media, storytelling, and technology.
Rowan’s work on narrative illuminates biases and assumptions inherent in the modern storytelling landscape. He believes that it is imperative to understand the media-technological environment not just for our enrichment but likely for our very survival.
Rowan’s fiction calls attention to structural problems inherent in human interaction with technology; his non-fiction work examines the role of storytelling in the modern tech landscape as well as the humanistic and esoteric origins of the computer revolution.
As Head Coach at Script Strategy, Rowan helps writers and corporate clients alike develop a compelling narrative, whether at idea or screenplay stage.
Rowan has written ten feature screenplays, four of which have been optioned. His script Neptune’s Net, co-written with Hassan Saïd, was among ten finalists out of over 1000 entrants in the 2024 Screencraft Film Fund. He is the co-winner of the 2023 Watersprite Film Festival’s short film screenplay competition. His work has reached Top 1% (Genre) on Coverfly.
Rowan has supervised undergraduate playwrights at Cambridge University and his Skillshare class on crafting a killer logline, Film Concept That Gets People Interested, has been taken by over 500 students.
Rowan is a graduate of Cambridge’s prestigious Writing for Performance program and holds an MA in Screenwriting from the London Film School. He has studied at Reed College (BA Physics and Philosophy), Paris-IV Sorbonne, and Dartmouth College.
Rowan’s latest project, the Kayess (K.S.), examines the fallout when a misunderstood technological force–the Internet–disrupts life in a sleepy 1990s Kansas town.