Rick Riordan

Author

Rick Riordan is an American author best known for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series — the phenomenally successful novels that brought Greek mythology to a new generation of young readers and launched one of the biggest franchises in children's publishing. His books have sold over 45 million copies worldwide and been translated... into dozens of languages. Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1964, Riordan studied English and History at the University of Texas at Austin and North Texas State University. He spent fifteen years as an English and History teacher at middle schools in San Antonio and the San Francisco Bay Area — an experience that profoundly shaped his writing. It was his son's request for bedtime stories about Greek myths that inspired the creation of Percy Jackson, a twelve-year-old boy who discovers he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon. The Lightning Thief, published in 2005, launched the Percy Jackson series and was an immediate success. The books cleverly transplant the world of Greek mythology into modern-day America — the gods live on Mount Olympus (relocated to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building), monsters lurk in ordinary settings, and demigod teenagers attend a summer camp called Camp Half-Blood. Riordan's genius is in making classical mythology funny, relevant, and accessible without dumbing it down. Following Percy Jackson, Riordan expanded his mythological universe with the Heroes of Olympus series (Roman mythology), the Kane Chronicles (Egyptian mythology), Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norse mythology), and the Trials of Apollo. He has also championed diverse mythological traditions through his Rick Riordan Presents imprint, publishing novels by authors from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. The Percy Jackson series was adapted into a Disney+ television series that has been praised for its faithfulness to the source material, with Riordan closely involved in the production. The audiobook editions of Riordan's novels are hugely popular with young listeners and families, with narrators delivering energetic performances that match the humour and excitement of the books. The audiobooks are a favourite for family car journeys and bedtime listening. Rick Riordan lives in Boston, Massachusetts. His books and audiobooks have done something remarkable: made millions of children fall in love with mythology, reading, and the idea that even the most ordinary-seeming kid might have something extraordinary inside them. Read more Show less