An American author born June 5, 1964, in San Antonio, Texas, Rick Riordan writes mythology-based fiction for young readers. Before his publishing career, he taught English and history at public and private middle schools in San Antonio and the San Francisco Bay Area for fifteen years. While teaching, he wrote the adult Tres Navarre mystery series, which won the top three national mystery awards: the Edgar, the Anthony, and the Shamus. Percy Jackson originated as a bedtime story Riordan invented for his son Haley, who had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia; drawing on the Greek mythology he taught, Riordan made the hero a demigod who shares those traits, so that learning differences became marks of heroism rather than deficits. That story became The Lightning Thief and grew into the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Riordan is best known for series rooted in Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology, and his books have been translated into dozens of languages and sold tens of millions of copies. In 2016 he launched the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, which publishes mythology- and folklore-based middle-grade fiction by new, emerging, and under-represented authors who draw on their own heritage. He co-created and serves as an executive producer on the Percy Jackson and the Olympians television adaptation, which premiered on Disney+ in 2023. He lives in Boston with his wife, Becky, who is also an executive producer on the series.
