Rick Riordan
Born June 5, 1964 — San Antonio, Texas, USA
Rick Riordan is an American author whose Percy Jackson & the Olympians series sparked a global wave of mythology-based fantasy for young readers, sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, spawned multiple sequel series, and turned an entire generation of reluctant readers into passionate ones.
Teacher Before Author
Born on June 5, 1964, in San Antonio, Texas, Riordan studied English and history at North Texas State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio before becoming a middle school English and history teacher, a profession he held for fifteen years. During those years he wrote adult mystery novels — the Tres Navarrete series set in San Antonio — which were published in the late 1990s. The Percy Jackson saga began as a bedtime story he improvised for his son Haley, who had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia and was struggling in school. Riordan invented a Greek mythology adventure featuring a kid with those same conditions as the hero, and Haley loved it so much he insisted his father write it as a book.
Percy Jackson and the World It Built
The Lightning Thief (2005) introduced twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, navigating a world where the Greek gods are real and active in modern America. The novel became a publishing phenomenon and launched a five-book series that concluded with The Last Olympian (2009). Riordan followed it with multiple interlinked series: The Kane Chronicles (Egyptian mythology), The Heroes of Olympus (Greek and Roman), Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norse), and The Trials of Apollo (Greek again, with an aging Apollo as narrator). The franchise has sold over 180 million copies and been adapted for film twice and for a Disney+ television series.
Did You Know?
Rick Riordan deliberately made Percy Jackson a child with ADHD and dyslexia, framing these as signs of a demigod's "wiring" — the ADHD is battle reflexes, the dyslexia is because demigod brains are hardwired for ancient Greek. He received thousands of letters from parents of children with learning differences saying that Percy's story changed how their child saw themselves. He has said this may be the most meaningful consequence of the entire series.
Rick Riordan Presents and Cultural Impact
In 2016 Riordan became an imprint editor at Disney Hyperion, launching "Rick Riordan Presents," an imprint dedicated to mythology-based fantasy by diverse authors writing about their own cultural heritage — Aru Shah (Hindu mythology), Storm Runner (Mayan), Sal and Gabi (Cuban-American magic). The initiative has expanded the reach of mythology-based fiction far beyond Greek stories. Riordan remains active on social media, is vocally involved in debates about LGBTQ+ representation in young adult fiction, and continues to produce new series. His career is a rare instance of a nonfiction teacher transforming a personal act of creative parenting into a global literary franchise.