Rick Riordan

Riordan was born in San Antonio, Texas. Growing up, he was an avid writer of short stories. Despite this, he attended college first for music and then to be an English and history teacher. Following graduation, Riordan taught middle school English and history for more than a decade before writing and publishing Big Red Tequila, an adult crime novel and the first in his Tres Navarre series. Though the Tres Navarre series has been successful and has won awards, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series made Riordan a household name. The Lightning Thief began as a bedtime story for Riordan’s son, who had just been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. With his son’s encouragement, Riordan took the next year to write The Lightning Thief, and when it was accepted by a publisher, Riordan agreed to write the next four in the series. To keep up with his deadlines for both series, Riordan quit teaching, though he hopes that through his books, he can do more to inspire kids to read—particularly about mythology—than he could as a teacher. He and his wife live in Boston.