Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''

Percy Jackson & the Olympians ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st cent ...

'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million copies in the United States.

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

adapted the first two books of his ''Percy Jackson'' series as part of a series of films, while a

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

is in production. His books have spawned related media, such as graphic novels and short story collections. Riordan's first full-length novel was '' Big Red Tequila'', which became the first book in the ''Tres Navarre'' series. His big breakthrough was ''

The Lightning Thief ''The Lightning Thief'' is a 2005 American fantasy- adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first young adult novel written by Rick Riordan in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. It won the Adult Library Services Association ...

'' (2005), the first novel in the five-volume ''Percy Jackson and the Olympians'' series, which placed a group of modern-day adolescents in a Greco- Roman mythological setting. Since then, Riordan has written '' The Heroes of Olympus'', a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the ''Percy Jackson'' series; '' The Kane Chronicles'', a trilogy of similar premise focusing on

Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyp ...

; and '' Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard'', again a trilogy of similar premise focusing on

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...

. Riordan also helped

Scholastic Press Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

develop '' The 39 Clues'' series and its spinoffs, and penned its first book, ''

The Maze of Bones ''The Maze of Bones'' is the first novel of The 39 Clues series, written by Rick Riordan and published September 9, 2008 by Scholastic. It stars Amy and Dan Cahill, two orphans who discover, upon their grandmother Grace's death, that they are pa ...

''. In 2021, he published '' Daughter of the Deep''. His third standalone novel, '' The Sun and the Star'', co-written with author Mark Oshiro, is set to be released on May 2, 2023.

Life and career

Riordan was born and raised in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

. He graduated from

Alamo Heights High School Alamo Heights High School is a public high school located in the city of Alamo Heights, Texas and is the only high school in the Alamo Heights Independent School District. Athletics The Alamo Heights Mules compete in the following sports: Cheerl ...

, and first attended the music program at

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal Scho ...

, wanting to be a guitarist. He transferred to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and studied English and History. He received his teaching certification in those subjects from the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the Education in San Antonio, largest universi ...

. He taught English and Social Studies for eight years at Presidio Hill School in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. Rick married Becky Riordan in 1985 on the couple's shared birthday. They have two sons, Haley and Patrick. They moved from San Antonio to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in June 2013, in conjunction with older son Haley starting college in Boston."Update from Athena House"
June 12, 2013. ''Myth & Mystery: The official blog for author Rick Riordan'' (rickriordan.blogspot.com). Retrieved November 14, 2015. Riordan has created several successful book series. ''Tres Navarre'', an adult mystery series about a Texas private eye, won the Shamus,

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

, and

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

s. He conceived the idea for the ''Percy Jackson'' series as bedtime stories about ancient Greek heroes for his son Haley. Haley had been diagnosed with

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

and

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

, inspiring Riordan to make the titular protagonist hyperactive and dyslexic. Riordan published the first novel in the series, ''

'', in 2005. Four sequels followed, with the last, '' The Last Olympian'', in 2009. Prior to ''Percy Jackson'', Riordan had written the ''Tres Navarres'' series, a series of mystery novels for adult readers. His ''

'' series features the titular twelve-year-old who discovers he is the modern-day son of the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

god Poseidon.

purchased the film rights and released two feature film adapations between 2010 and 2013. Following the success of ''Percy Jackson'', Riordan created '' The Kane Chronicles'', which features a modern-day

Egyptian pantheon Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural f ...

and two new sibling protagonists, Sadie and Carter Kane. Riordan also created a sequel series to Percy Jackson, '' The Heroes of Olympus''. Riordan also helped create the children's book series '' The 39 Clues''. He authored several of its books, including ''

'', which topped ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list on September 28, 2008. He also wrote the introduction to the

Puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

Classics edition of Roger Lancelyn Green's ''Tales of the Greek Heroes'', in which he states that the book influenced him to write his Greek mythology series. In 2022, Riordan co-wrote the pilot for the '' Percy Jackson and the Olympians'' series on

and is serving as an executive producer for the show. Disney had earlier acquired Fox in 2019, allowing it to gain the rights to adapt the ''Percy Jackson'' novels.

Awards

*1998 Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel and

Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America Mystery W ...

for Best Paperback Original for '' Big Red Tequila'' *1999

for Best Paperback Original for ''The Widower's Two-Step'' *2008 Mark Twain Award for ''

'' *2009 Mark Twain Award for '' The Sea of Monsters'' *2009

Rebecca Caudill Rebecca Caudill Ayars (February 2, 1899 – October 2, 1985) was an American writer of children's literature. More than twenty of her books were published. '' Tree of Freedom'' (Viking, 1949) was a Newbery Honor Book in 1950. ''A Pocketful of C ...

Award for ''

'' *2010 School Library Journal's Best Book for '' The Red Pyramid'' *2011 Children's Choice Book Awards: Author of the Year *2011 Children's Choice Book Awards: Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year for '' The Red Pyramid'' *2011 Wyoming Soaring Eagle Book Award for '' The Last Olympian'' *2011 Milner Award for Percy Jackson and the Olympians series *2012 Indian Paintbrush Award for '' The Red Pyramid'' *2013 Best Fiction Book for Children in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

for ''

The Mark of Athena ''The Mark of Athena'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 2, 2012, and is the third book in '' The Heroes of Olympus'' series, a sequel of the ''Perc ...

'' *2017 Stonewall Book Award for Children's literature for ''The Hammer of Thor''

Bibliography

''Percy Jackson & the Olympians''

# ''

'' (2005) # '' The Sea of Monsters'' (2006) # '' The Titan's Curse'' (2007) # '' The Battle of the Labyrinth'' (2008) # '' The Last Olympian'' (2009) # ''The Chalice of the Gods'' (2023)

Related books

# '' The Demigod Files'' (2009) # '' The Ultimate Guide'' (2010, in collaboration with Antonio Caparo, Philip Chidlow, and Keven Hays) # ''Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo'' (2013; short story published in

Guys Read Guys Read is a web-based literacy program for boys founded by author Jon Scieszka in 2001. Its mission is "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers" by bringing attention to the issue, promoting the expansion of what is called "readi ...

) # '' Percy Jackson's Greek Gods'' (2014, illustrations by John Rocco) # '' Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes'' (2015, illustrations by John Rocco) # '' Camp Half-Blood Confidential'' (2017) # ''The Percy Jackson Coloring Book'' (2017, artwork by Keith Robinson) # ''The Lightning Thief: Illustrated Edition'' (August 14, 2018, illustrated by John Rocco)

''The Heroes of Olympus''

# ''

The Lost Hero ''The Lost Hero'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 12, 2010, and is the first book in ''The Heroes of Olympus'' series, a sequel to the ''Percy Jacks ...

'' (2010) # '' The Son of Neptune'' (2011) # ''

'' (2012) # '' The House of Hades'' (2013) # ''

The Blood of Olympus ''The Blood of Olympus'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was released on October 7, 2014, is the fifth and final novel in '' The Heroes of Olympus'' series. It is followed ...

'' (2014)

Related books

# '' The Demigod Diaries'' (2012) # ''Demigods of Olympus'' (2015, interactive e-book)

''The Kane Chronicles''

# '' The Red Pyramid'' (2010) # '' The Throne of Fire'' (2011) # '' The Serpent's Shadow'' (2012)

Related books

# ''Survival Guide'' (2012) # ''Brooklyn House Magician's Manual'' (2018)

''Demigods and Magicians''

Published individually first, then as an anthology titled ''Demigods and Magicians'' in 2016. # '' The Son of Sobek'' (2013) # '' The Staff of Serapis'' (2014) # '' The Crown of Ptolemy'' (2015)

''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard''

# '' The Sword of Summer'' (2015) # ''

The Hammer of Thor ''The Hammer of Thor'' is an American young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by Rick Riordan. It was published on October 4, 2016 as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook, and is the second book in the ''Magnus Chase and the G ...

'' (2016) # '' The Ship of the Dead'' (2017)

Related books

# '' Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds'' (2016) # ''The Magnus Chase Coloring Book'' (August 14, 2018, artwork by Keith Robinson) # ''9 from the Nine Worlds'' (October 2, 2018)

''The Trials of Apollo''

# '' The Hidden Oracle'' (2016) # '' The Dark Prophecy'' (2017) # '' The Burning Maze'' (2018) # '' The Tyrant's Tomb'' (2019) # '' The Tower of Nero'' (2020)

Related books

# ''Camp Jupiter Classified'' (2020)

''Tres Navarre''

# '' Big Red Tequila'' (1997) # ''The Widower's Two-Step'' (1998) # ''The Last King of Texas'' (2001) # ''The Devil Went Down to Austin'' (2002) # ''Southtown'' (2004) # ''Mission Road'' (2005) # ''Rebel Island'' (2008)

''The 39 Clues''

# ''

'' (2008) # ''Introduction to The 39 Clues: The Black Book of Buried Secrets'' (2010) # ''

Vespers Rising ''Vespers Rising'' is a part of ''The 39 Clues'' franchise, which includes the 39 Clues books, card packs, and interactive online games. The book is a transition between the first series, ''The 39 Clues'', and the second, '' Cahills vs. Vespers'' ...

'' (2011, in collaboration with Peter Lerangis,

Gordon Korman Gordon Korman (born October 23, 1963) is a Canadian American author. Korman has written 100 children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appe ...

, and

Jude Watson Judy Blundell, pseudonym Jude Watson, is an American author of books for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers. She won the annual National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2008 for the young adult novel '' What I Saw and How I ...

)

Graphic novels

''Percy Jackson & the Olympians''

# ''The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel'' (2010, in collaboration with Robert Venditti, Nate Powell, and Jose Villarrubia) # ''The Sea of Monsters Graphic Novel'' (2013, in collaboration with Robert Venditti, Attila Futaki, and Tamas Gaspar) # ''The Titan's Curse Graphic Novel'' (2013, in collaboration with Robert Venditti, Attila Futaki, and Gregory Guilhaumond) # ''The Battle of Labyrinth Graphic Novel'' (2018, in collaboration with Robert Venditti, Orpheus Collar and Antoine Dode) # ''The Last Olympian Graphic Novel'' (2019, in collaboration with Robert Venditti, Orpheus Collar and Antoine Dode)

''The Kane Chronicles''

# ''The Red Pyramid Graphic Novel'' (2012, adapted by Orpheus Collar) # ''The Throne of Fire Graphic Novel'' (2015, adapted by Orpheus Collar) # ''The Serpent's Shadow Graphic Novel'' (2017, adapted by Orpheus Collar))

''The Heroes of Olympus''

# ''The Lost Hero Graphic Novel'' (2014, in collaboration with Robert Venditti, Nate Powell, and Orpheus Collar) # ''The Son of Neptune Graphic Novel'' (2017, in collaboration with Robert Venditti, Antoine Dode, and Orpheus Collar)

Standalone novels

* ''Cold Springs'' (2004) * '' Daughter of the Deep'' (2021) * '' The Sun and the Star'' (2023, in collaboration with Mark Oshiro)

Other

# Introduction to the anthology ''Tales of the Greek Heroes'', Roger Lancelyn Green (2009) # Introduction to the essay collection '' Demigods and Monsters'' (2009, 2013)

Rick Riordan Presents

In September 2016,

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

- Hyperion announced a new Rick Riordan

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

. The imprint is called "

Rick Riordan Presents Rick Riordan Presents is a book imprint of Disney-Hyperion (Disney Publishing Worldwide) that was launched in 2018 and is led by Stephanie Owens Lurie. The line publishes books that utilize the mythology of various cultures and countries in its ...

" and was launched in March 2018. It is headed by Riordan's editor, Stephanie Owens Lurie. Lurie said that Riordan had been approached about an imprint several years ago but initially dismissed the idea because of his heavy workload. Later, he reported back that he had been "toying with the idea" and was "willing to go forward with a publishing line that was not a brand extension for his own work but a platform for Riordan to bring other great writers to the attention of his vast and loyal audience." She also said that the imprint planned to launch with two then undetermined books. "The point of making this announcement now is to get the word out about what we’re looking for.” The imprint will not publish books written by Riordan, "whose role will be closer to curator". In an interview with the ''Iowa Gazette'', Riordan said, "Instead of me writing all of the mythologies we are going to look for authors who already are writing about that stuff. If I feel like I can recommend them o my readers... we’re going to have them out here in the spotlight." A focus will be placed on "diverse, mythology-based fiction by new, emerging, and under-represented authors". Lurie expressed hopes that the imprint will help satisfy Riordan fans without asking the author to write more than his usual two books a year.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riordan, Rick Rick Riordan 1964 births Alamo Heights High School alumni American fantasy writers Living people People from San Antonio University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni Anthony Award winners Shamus Award winners 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers

Life and career

Awards

Bibliography

''Percy Jackson & the Olympians''

Related books

''The Heroes of Olympus''

Related books

''The Kane Chronicles''

Related books

''Demigods and Magicians''

''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard''

Related books

''The Trials of Apollo''

Related books

''Tres Navarre''

''The 39 Clues''

Graphic novels

''Percy Jackson & the Olympians''

''The Kane Chronicles''

''The Heroes of Olympus''

Standalone novels

Other

Rick Riordan Presents

Notes

References

Further reading

External links