Rowan Ashvale

Rowan Ashvale is a fantasy novelist based in Portland, Oregon. She studied comparative mythology at Reed College before spending three years teaching English in Kyoto, an experience that deepened her interest in how folklore encodes cultural memory. Her debut novel, A Throne of Smoke and Starlight, is the first installment of The Ashen Crown trilogy. Ashvale has cited Ursula K. Le Guin, Leigh Bardugo, and Naomi Novik among her influences. She has said that the magic system in The Ashen Crown books grew out of her undergraduate thesis on grief rituals in Indo-European myth. Before turning to fiction full-time, she worked as a narrative designer for an indie game studio. When she is not writing, Ashvale volunteers at a raptor rehabilitation center and maintains an unreasonable collection of fountain pens.