FREE, HUMAN-FIRST CODE & WRITING

Brennan Kenneth Brown

Independent author and web developer that’s passionate about making a better, more-human Internet for everyone.

Making a dent in the universe.

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Open-Source Web Developer and Author

About Me

I’m a Queer Red River Métis writer, and JAMstack developer who works within the hybrid of technology, creativity, and community.

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I love writing and I love coding.

Hi there! I’m Brennan Kenneth Brown (my friends call me Kenny). I write daily and build in the open:

  • +500,000 words across +280 posts, with 2,000 avg. words per post on brennan.day since January 2025
  • 1,400+ hours logged coding since 2017 via WakaTime. Markdown, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and Python
  • Open-Source Contributor: Created 30+ free Jekyll/Eleventy/Hugo themes and tools used by developers worldwide
  • Founder of Berry House: Building a more human-centric web through JAMstack development and compelling storytelling
  • Published Author: Nine independent books of poetry and essays exploring identity, love, faith, and the human experience
  • Indigenous & Queer Voice: Committed to empowering marginalized communities and centering stories that matter
  • English Honours Graduate: Mount Royal University, 3.8 GPA, founder of Write Club creative writing community

My sites are fast and framework-light. Eleventy, Hugo, and Jekyll for generation. Nunjucks and Go templates for layouts. Markdown and YAML for content. Vanilla CSS with no heavy frameworks. We can make the Internet simple and human.
BERRY HOUSE

Work With Berry House

Your go-to collective for human-centric web development and compelling digital writing.

Berry House is a social enterprise reclaiming the internet from algorithm-driven homogeneity. We offer professional JAMstack web development and writing services while championing digital autonomy, creativity, and a more meaningful web.

What We Offer

  • JAMstack Web Development: Modern, performant, secure websites built with Hugo, Eleventy, and other static site generators
  • Writing Services: Copywriting, technical writing, content strategy, and storytelling workshops
  • Dual Mission: Professional services for businesses at market rates, plus accessible pay-what-you-can support for non-profits and marginalized communities

Why Choose Berry House?

We believe the web should be human-first, not algorithm-first. Whether you’re a corporate client seeking cutting-edge JAMstack solutions or a non-profit needing to tell your story, Berry House brings technical excellence and authentic storytelling together.

Looking to work together? Berry House is your best option for professional collaboration. Contact us to discuss your project.

Berry House
SUPPORT MY WORK

Help Keep My FOSS Work Free & Accessible

If you’ve benefited from my open-source themes, tools, or writing, consider supporting my work.

I’ve been creating free and open-source software (FOSS) for years—Jekyll themes, Eleventy starters, web development tools, and extensive documentation—all available at no cost. Your support helps me dedicate more time to building accessible tools, writing educational content, and contributing to the IndieWeb and JAMstack communities.

The Toonie Club

One simple tier, full access for everyone: $2 CAD per month (or pay whatever you want). No expensive gated content or confusing tiers—just simple, sustainable support.

  • Ko-fi: Join the Toonie Club or leave a one-time tip (recommended)
  • GitHub Sponsors: Support my open-source development directly on GitHub
  • Patreon: Toonie Club membership support on a monthly basis

Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a meaningful difference and helps me continue making the web a more creative, accessible, and human-centric space.

Want to learn more? Check out all the ways to support, including non-monetary options.

Support on Ko-fi

Join the Toonie Club for $2 CAD/month, or leave a one-time tip

Support on Ko-fi
Sponsor on GitHub

Support my open-source development directly on GitHub

Sponsor on GitHub
Join on Patreon

Toonie Club membership at $2 CAD per month

Join on Patreon
PUBLISHED WORKS

My Books

Poetry, essays, and chapbooks exploring Indigenous identity, queerness, love, and the human experience.

PRAIRIE BOYSPIRIT: An NDN Memoir
PRAIRIE BOYSPIRIT: An NDN Memoir

50 pages • 2024

5.0/5

A Queer Métis writer bleeds truth onto the page, confronting addiction, white-passingness, and cultural displacement while burning sage from crystal shops and praying to a God that's equal parts Catholic guilt and Cree cosmology.

THE DOGWOOD VERSES: Selected Writings 2011-2021
THE DOGWOOD VERSES: Selected Writings 2011-2021

587 pages • 2021

4.8/5

An anthology of over 300 poems spanning a decade—an inevitable cocktail of nostalgia, regret and love. A slow-burn meditation on everything vital, everything that's keeping the author alive.

The Weight of Yr Heart: Love Poetry for Connie Yu
The Weight of Yr Heart: Love Poetry for Connie Yu

54 pages • 2023

5.0/5

Thirty-seven love poems centered around transcendental love. Tender complexities of relationships through surreal imagery and vulnerability—moments of joy, desire, doubt, comfort, and devotion.

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Read some of my articles, essays, and stories.

Writing Portfolio

I write in a wide variety of genres and topics. From lyric essays and cultural criticism to practical IndieWeb tutorials for developers, each piece reflects my dedication to meaningful storytelling and helping others.

Find My Writing Across the Web

  • Medium Blog: Long-form essays on productivity, tech, and self-development
  • brennan.day: My independent IndieWeb publication, built with 11ty.
  • Poetry on Tumblr: Free-verse, experimental and creative writing

Creative writing

Lyric essays and cultural criticism. Full archive at brennan.day/archive.

A digitally collaged, retro-internet-inspired graphic with oversized white text reading 'WEBMASTER@manifesto' over a distorted Windows 95-era desktop interface with chromatic aberration.
August 2026
WEBMASTER@ a manifesto

I'm reclaiming the title of "webmaster" as the multidisciplinary creator who designs, develops, …

A white wooden grain elevator marked 'SASKATCHEWAN' in a small prairie town under a clear blue sky, with a gravel road running along the foreground.
April 2026
GRAIN ELEVATOR COUNTRY

A fifteen-hour road trip across Saskatchewan with my brother, watching the prairie unfold through …

A photograph of Earth from deep space, partially in shadow with a thin luminous blue atmospheric halo, Australia visible as a rust-coloured landmass.
April 2026
That's Home. That's us.

We have the first human photograph of Earth from space in 54 years, and I can't help but meditate on …

Hand-coloured 19th-century engraving of a glowing fireball hovering near a fireplace as four startled men in period suits react.
August 2026
Our Skies Contain Sprites and Elves

Yes, really. Exploring the magical world of transient luminous events in the upper atmosphere: …

Vintage-toned photo of a young woman in profile with clown-style face paint, a painted winking eye, standing before a plaza fountain.
July 2026
THE CLOWN BURNOUT

Clown white doesn't come off in one pass. A personal story about how I can never take myself …

Oil painting of a dark-haired young man writing intently at a small desk in a cluttered, sunlit room.
June 2026
Writers Who Wrote The Most in History

I've been writing publicly every day for seven months, and I wanted to know what that looked like …

Technical writing

Tutorials and IndieWeb write-ups for developers who want to build their own independent sites.

A stylized 1980s-style illustration of a wheelchair racer in motion, rendered in neon line art against bold graphic bands of colour.
June 2026
Why Make Your Website Accessible?

Web accessibility isn't compliance theatre or checking off a list. It's about designing for …

Archival photograph of warehouse shelving divided into numbered bins holding machine parts, tinted with a diagonal rainbow colour cast.
September 2026
Oldnets and Altnets: Gemini and Gopher

Reacting to the Omarchy and DigitalOcean news, I set out a curated low-spec, text-first alternative …

Northern Renaissance oil painting of an elderly bearded scholar in a red robe, seated at a cluttered desk with an hourglass, candle, and manuscripts.
August 2026
Becoming a Rogue Scholar

I've been weighing grad school against continuing my own open-access publication, so I wrote a guide …

Hand-coloured 19th-century political cartoon of a crowded room of men in formal coats debating around a table, with numbered speech balloons rising above the group.
June 2026
How Webmentions Work on brennan.day

A tutorial and walkthrough of how I implemented webmentions on my site, from setup to display, …

A server room with multiple open rack cabinets filled with densely packed hardware, illuminated by dramatic amber, pink, green, and blue lighting.
May 2026
Homelabbing For Beginners

A beginner-friendly guide to building your own homelab on inexpensive hardware. Covers finding old …

Screenshot of the brennan.click homepage, a dark-themed digital garden site with wiki-links, bookmarks, and dated notes sections.
July 2026
Making a Digital Garden in 11ty

I decided to build brennan.click, a wiki-linked digital commonplace book in Eleventy, with …

PRESS & READERSHIP

By the Numbers

Front-page Hacker News features, the most-upvoted post in Lobste.rs history, and readers in 184 countries across six continents.

Front page of Hacker News

The End of Eleventy (229 pts) and Gemini, Gophers, and Fingers (147 pts)

#1
Most upvoted post ever on Lobste.rs

Normalized Fascism in Open Source: $12 Million Given to DHH — 495 points, 475 comments

#2
Highest upvoted blogger on Bubbles.town

211 voters, 494 upvotes on the Most Voted Blogs list

~270,000
Total views across Medium & brennan.day

80.7K on Medium (Dec 2025–Aug 2026) + 198,242 on brennan.day (since Feb 2026)

184
Countries & territories reached

Readers across all six inhabited continents

562K+
Words published on brennan.day

+280 posts averaging 2,000 words each, since January 2025

BLOG THEMES & TEMPLATES

Jekyll, Hugo, & 11ty Themes

Free, open-source themes for modern blogging and digital gardens.

Enjoyment Work
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Jekyll, Bootstrap, Obsidian

Extensive Jekyll theme with Roam Research functionality for digital gardens and note-taking

Newsprint

Eleventy, Tailwind CSS

Newsletter-first Eleventy theme with traditional newspaper aesthetics and multi-column layouts

Campfire Hugo Theme

Hugo, HTML, CSS

Warm, story-focused Hugo theme for blogs and writing-first sites

Indiepaper

Hugo, Microformats2

Minimalist brutalist blog theme for Hugo with smolweb compliance and microformats2 support

OPEN-SOURCE PROJECTS

Apps, Tools & Websites

Full-stack applications, developer tools, and community websites.

Meddler: Medium.com Exporter

TypeScript, React, Node.js, Vite, Tailwind CSS, JSZip, Cheerio, Turndown

A Medium export converter that transforms your Medium archive into Markdown files for Jekyll, Hugo, Eleventy, or Astro. Available as both a web interface and CLI tool.

Bearminder: Bear → Beeminder Menubar

Swift, macOS AppKit, Beeminder API, Bear App API, Keychain, XcodeGen

A macOS menubar application that tracks daily word counts from the Bear app and posts them to Beeminder goals. It runs on-demand or hourly, securely stores tokens in Keychain, and focuses on privacy.

writer-cli: Terminal Publishing Tool

Shell, Hugo, Eleventy, Jekyll

A command-line tool for bloggers with static sites. Open a terminal, write a post, and publish with one command. Supports Hugo, Eleventy, and Jekyll.

fanfiction.lol: Independent Fan Archive

Ruby, HTML, CSS, MariaDB

A small, independent archive of fanworks and original works, forked from Archive of Our Own. It is meant to be fun, low-stakes, and centre marginalized voices and identities in fandom.

Get to know my background.

My Resume

Take a look at my unique work history and education that lead me to where I am today. I take pride in being an autodidact, lifelong-learner and always approach materials with a beginner’s mindset.

September 2021 — April 2025

Bachelor of Arts, English Honours

Mount Royal University

Final GPA: 3.8 • Graduated April 2025

  • Member of the Golden Key Honour Society
  • Founder of the Creative Writing Club (https://writeclub.ca)
  • President from September 2022 — June 2025
  • Contributor to The Reflector Newspaper
February 2020 — August 2020

Fullstack Web Development Program

InceptionU / EvolveU

  • Vanilla JavaScript, React.js, Node.js, Python, Flask, PostgreSQL, NoSQL, C#.
  • Test Driven Development, Pair Programming, Debugging, Wire-framing.
  • Agile Management, Design Thinking, Project Management.
September 2016 — June 2017

Various Courses, Software Development

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

  • Hardware, Operating System, Networking, and Programming Essentials
  • Business Dynamic, Communications and Presentation Skills
  • User-Interface and MySQL Database Design
  • Object Oriented Programming, Website Development Fundamentals
August 2025 — Present

Founder and Lead Developer

Berry House

  • Dual-mission model: corporate rates fund pro-bono web development for nonprofits and marginalized communities, across the Jekyll, Eleventy, and Hugo ecosystems.
  • Deliver 95+ Google Lighthouse scores (performance, accessibility, SEO, best practices), with 60–80% load time reductions for WordPress → JAMstack migrations.
  • Build and maintain IndieWeb-compliant open-source starters and tools (jekyll-audit CLI, Markdown-to-DOCX, Meddler) with Webmentions, Microformats, and RSS support.
  • Deployed fanfiction.lol, an independent fanfiction archive forked from the AO3 (OTW-Archive) codebase, on a Ruby on Rails 8 stack with MariaDB, Elasticsearch, Redis, and Docker Compose.
January 2026 — Present

Full-stack Web Developer

folk.zone

  • Sole operator of an IndieWeb commons: 15+ free, open-source federated services self-hosted on consumer hardware, including Mastodon, Forgejo, Lemmy, FreshRSS, WriteFreely, and BookWyrm.
  • Architected a single Docker Compose stack with Caddy reverse proxy, automatic Let’s Encrypt TLS, and Authentik SSO across all services.
  • Replaced Cloudflare with Caddy + Porkbun DNS to align infrastructure with IndieWeb data-sovereignty values.
  • Built and deployed an Eleventy (11ty) static homepage with a full custom brand system, style guide, and technical deployment documentation.
December 2015 — Present

Independent Journalist & Publisher

Medium / brennan.day

  • Authored 300+ longform articles spanning literary criticism, Indigenous studies, disability representation, creative writing craft, digital minimalism, web development, and personal essays.
  • Featured on the front page of Hacker News twice: “The End of Eleventy” and “Gemini, Gophers, and Fingers”.
  • Built and maintain brennan.day, a production IndieWeb publication built from scratch with Eleventy, Nunjucks, and vanilla CSS, scoring 9/9 on the IndieWeb protocol checker (Webmentions, Micropub, IndieAuth, WebSub, Microformats2, RSS/JSON feeds).
  • Improved Lighthouse mobile score from 65 to 95 through critical CSS inlining, DOM batching, image optimization, and migration to inline SVG sprites.
January 2026 — Present

Lead Instructor

Fireweed Writing School

  • Anti-racist, student-centered online writing school focused on craft, discipline, and community-based learning.
  • Designed bi-weekly workshop curriculum covering imagist techniques, revision processes, and publication pathways.
  • Facilitate live 2-hour workshops with small cohorts using Critical Response Process peer critique methodology.
February 2020 — January 2022

Technical Writer & Productivity Analyst

Journal.kim / JournalBar

  • Published 70 consecutive weekly blog posts documenting comprehensive self-improvement experiment, achieving 100% consistency over 24-month period with 160,000+ words of technical documentation.
  • Maintained 26 simultaneous behavioral tracking systems using Beeminder platform, demonstrating advanced project management and data analysis capabilities.
  • Built and maintained Jekyll-based static site with custom CSS, JavaScript, and responsive design; managed 700+ GitHub commits for site infrastructure and open-source contributions.
  • Integrated multiple tracking APIs and automation tools (RescueTime, IFTTT, GitHub API, Fitbit) to create comprehensive data pipeline for self-quantification.
September 2021 — Present

Book Author

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

  • Published 9 independent books (poetry chapbooks, essay collections, memoir) totaling 1,500+ pages.
  • Works span confessional poetry, Indigenous identity, literary criticism, and experimental writing, sustaining 4.8–5.0 star ratings across all titles.
  • Editor and foreword contributor for the On the Fringe anthologies, featuring 20+ emerging writers.
September 2022 — June 2025

Founder and President

Write Club

  • Founded and facilitated weekly meetings fostering a vibrant learning community of over 100 members, focusing on improving creative writing skills and promoting intellectual diversity.
  • Served as President, leading fundraising events for the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation and organizing author readings, poetry slams, bookstore collaborations, and indie anthology publishing.
  • Built writeclub.ca on Jekyll with a focus on accessibility, complete visual identity, and community engagement.
August 2020 — August 2025

Crisis Support Listener

7 Cups

  • Provided active listening and emotional support to individuals in distress on a global mental health platform, cultivating a safe and validating environment for members to share their experiences.
  • Engaged in 790+ support chats, directly assisting 249+ individuals with their emotional well-being, sustaining a 5-star rating backed by 84 individual ratings and 19 detailed written reviews.
  • Attained “Advanced Listener Level 5” certification by progressing through 105 specialized training steps.
October 2022 — December 2022

Marketing Intern

OnRamp Fellowship

  • Completed intensive 12-week marketing fellowship focused on digital marketing strategies and campaign development.
  • Developed comprehensive marketing plans for local businesses and nonprofit organizations.
  • Created content calendars, social media strategies, and email marketing campaigns.
February 2020 — August 2020

Full Stack Developer

InceptionU Fellowship

  • Experimental program focused on full-stack development in a collaborative learning environment.
  • Studied Vanilla JavaScript, React.js, Node.js, Python, Flask, PostgreSQL, and C#.
  • Practiced Test Driven Development, pair programming, debugging, and wireframing within agile methods.
August 2015 — January 2020

Sous Chef

Rotary Flames House

  • Managed morning rush serving numerous families daily with efficient, levelheaded customer service in a hospice care environment.
  • Updated menu with daily offerings and specials, using personalized artistic touches to create a comforting atmosphere for families in difficult circumstances.
  • Correctly followed all health, safety and sanitation guidelines; managed inventory by establishing and adjusting ordering parameters, forecasting usage and controlling waste.
August 2015 — December 2019

Housekeeper

ServiceMaster Clean

  • Experience cleaning within hospitals, businesses and educational settings with training in specifications of intensive-care and emergency protocols.
  • Demonstrated diverse knowledge of particular sanitation techniques and heavy-lifting capabilities up to 30kg in laborious work environments.
  • Maintained high standards of cleanliness and safety across multiple facility types.
Here's what people are saying.

Testimonials

I met Brennan at Mount Royal University, and worked alongside him as an executive of The Write Club. Throughout the time that I’ve known him, Brennan has proven himself to be a driven, caring, highly competent individual. He has consistently demonstrated creativity, problem solving skills, and an aptitude for expansion and growth. Brennan has also fostered an amazing environment for myself and our university peers, constantly striving to help his friends to the best of his ability. I believe Brennan would be an incredible asset to any potential employer.

Benjamin Urquhart | March 5th, 2024

Brennan possesses strong leadership skills, that has helped him cultivate a strong and close-knit writing community. He cares deeply for all individuals who comes to Write Club, trying to make an inclusive space, supporting those from all walks of life by helping them develop their writing skills. Brennan is not only caring and considerate, but he is also resourceful, continuously finding ways to network with others involved in the writing community and consistently coming up with new ideas to help foster a bigger community. I am deeply thankful to be a part of such a vibrant community, created by the founder, Brennan.

Connie Yu, Owner of the Calgary Vegan Society | March 3rd, 2024

Brennan has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills within our community. I have had the privilege of working alongside Brennan as the marketing executive for Write Club and have come to value his advice and determination. Brennan is extremely motivated and organized, as exemplified by his consistent efforts to improve communication and participation within Write Club. Brennan excels in his position, helping people realize their potential through encouragement and constructive criticism. He would be an asset to any organization that chose to employ him.

Campton Hancock | February 28th, 2024

Brennan is an absolute joy to work with. He’s extremely knowledgeable and able to apply his expertise with data to any project. Not only does his technical expertise shine through, but he also brings creative ideas to his projects. Glad that I was able to share a cohort!

Candice Tate, 2021 VA of the Year | September 4th, 2022

Brennan was a fun and instructive member of the InceptionU cohort, I feel lucky to have worked with him and gained from his skills as a full stack developer. I can without hesitation recommend him for any full stack, front end or back end role. Any software company would be fortunate to have him join their team.

Andrew Bizon, P. Eng. | September 21st, 2020

Brennan acquired a wealth of new knowledge and skills through the program at InceptionU and successfully presented his front end learning project that included JavaScript, React.js and some backend integrations. I wish Brennan all the best in his technology journey, and I am confident in his success!

Roman Mirakhmedov, Principle Solutions Architect at AWS | August 6th, 2020

As the Tech Lead for the InceptionU Full Stack Development Program for the 4th Cohort, I would like to congratulate Brennan on completing the Front-End curriculum at InceptionU. This included JavaScript (Syntax, Logic, Events, DOM, Data Structures, Arrays, Objects/Dictionaries, Linked Lists, State Management, etc.). I wish him the best in the technical community.

Larry Shumlich | August 6th, 2020

I had the pleasure of teaching Brennan in the OnRamp Growth Marketing Bootcamp this year. Brennan is a creative, curious and resourceful problem-solver. During OnRamp, he demonstrated strengths in content development & copywriting (blog, sales sheet), campaign design and marketing fundamentals. He always asked really great, thoughtful questions, contributed new ideas and supported his fellow cohort participants when they needed help. Plus his technical coding aptitude gave him a leg-up when tackling the more technical side of marketing tools. He was a pleasure to work with!

Chantel Elliott | December 1st, 2022

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My Skills

Why hire me for your next project?

With a diverse skill set and a passion for continuous learning, I am dedicated to helping freelancers and startups achieve their goals. My extensive experience in web development, community building, content creation, and project management enables me to deliver high-quality results across various domains. Here’s a closer look at the skills I bring to the table:

Creative & Content Writing
95%
Community Building & Engagement
90%
Editing & Proofreading
90%
JavaScript & Front-End Dev.
80%
Agile & Scrum Methodologies
80%
Python & Back-End Dev.
75%
Research & Analysis
75%
SQL & NoSQL Databases
70%
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What I can do for you.

My Services

Enjoy team diversity and increase their networks among others people in various fields by provided.

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Web Development

I specialize in custom JAMStack web development, from small business websites to enterprise-level applications. I utilize Headless CMS tools and static frameworks to create websites that are both user-friendly and extremely fast.

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Content Strategy

I help businesses create and implement content strategies that are aligned with their business goals. I have a deep understanding of how to create and curate content that new and existing customers will find valuable.

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Blog Writing

Are you looking for a high-quality, well-written blog post? Look no further! I can help you create engaging content that will resonate with your audience, writing catchy headlines and interesting stories.

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UI/UX Design

I design and develop user-friendly interfaces that are both aesthetically pleasing and highly functional. I take a user-centered approach to my work, making sure that your customers will have a positive experience using your product.

Want to get to know me better? Visit my 11ty IndieWeb site built from scratch: https://brennan.day