Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is an American author best known for creating the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Before becoming a full-time writer, he taught English and history at middle schools in California and Texas. He has said that stories he told his son, Haley, helped inspire Percy Jackson: Haley had enjoyed Greek mythology, and Riordan began inventing bedtime adventures featuring a modern-day boy who discovers he is connected to the ancient gods.

The first book, The Lightning Thief, was published in 2005. Its narrator, Percy Jackson, learns that he is a demigod, the son of Poseidon, and is accused of stealing Zeus’s master lightning bolt. Percy travels across the United States with Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood to find the bolt and prevent a conflict among the gods. The novel combines contemporary settings with characters and monsters drawn from Greek mythology. It was followed by The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian, completing the original five-book series.

Riordan later expanded Percy’s fictional world. The Heroes of Olympus follows a new group of demigods and brings Roman mythology into the story, while The Trials of Apollo centers on the god Apollo after Zeus sends him to Earth in mortal form. Other series include The Kane Chronicles, which draws on Egyptian mythology, and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, based on Norse mythology. These books connect legendary figures and supernatural conflicts to present-day life, while introducing young protagonists who face questions of loyalty, identity, and responsibility.

The Percy Jackson books became major commercial successes and were adapted into the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Riordan publicly criticized aspects of that film adaptation, particularly its departure from the books’ intended age range and story. A television adaptation, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, premiered on Disney+ in December 2023. Riordan was involved in its development and served as an executive producer.

In addition to writing, Riordan has supported the publication of books by other authors through the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, launched by Disney-Hyperion in 2018. The imprint features middle-grade fantasy drawing on mythologies and traditions beyond those that dominate his own series. His career has therefore included both building interconnected myth-inspired adventures and helping bring a broader range of cultural stories to young readers.