Hello, my name is Richard Bown. I am a writer and a computer programmer.
I’ve spent over three decades working within large organisations, watching and helping to build and run elaborate systems. Now I like to write stories about the tension between work and life, and what happens to the humans trapped in the corporate machines.
As an engineer and engineering leader, I’ve worked for dozens of global companies over my career, taking regular breaks to create art, music, writing and more software. I’ve contributed heavily to the technical community and to the canon of socio-technical literature through case studies for the second edition of Team Topologies, as well as speaking at conferences on being a human working in technology.
Human Software is my debut novel. It grew out of what it actually feels like to be inside corporate systems, a growing disquiet about data centres and AI and the line between ambition and greed. A second novel, One More Island, is underway and will be available early in 2027.
Originally from Kent, I live near Amsterdam with my family.
