Rick Riordan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rick Riordan
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Riordan in 2018
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| Born | Richard Russell Riordan Jr. June 5, 1964 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at San Antonio |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
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| Spouse |
Rebecca Klahn
(m. 1985) |
| Children | 2 |
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Richard Russell Riordan Jr. (born June 5, 1964), known to his fans as Rick Riordan, is an American author. He is famous for his exciting fantasy books based on ancient myths. His most popular works are the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. This series includes Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, The Trials of Apollo, and The Nico di Angelo Adventures.
Riordan's books have been translated into 42 languages. Over 30 million copies have been sold in the United States alone. In 2023, a new television series based on his Percy Jackson books was released on Disney+. Riordan served as a co-creator and executive producer for the show. He won two Emmy Awards for his work on the series. His stories have also inspired graphic novels and short story collections.
Riordan's first full novel was Big Red Tequila. This book started his Tres Navarre mystery series for grown-ups. His big breakthrough came with The Lightning Thief in 2005. This was the first book in the five-part Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It brought modern-day teenagers into the world of Greek and Roman mythology. Since then, Riordan has written many other popular series. These include The Heroes of Olympus, a sequel to Percy Jackson. He also wrote The Kane Chronicles, which explores Egyptian mythology. Another popular series is Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, which focuses on Norse mythology. Riordan also helped create The 39 Clues series and wrote its first book, The Maze of Bones. In 2021, he published Daughter of the Deep. His novel, The Sun and the Star, co-written with Mark Oshiro, was published in May 2023.
Contents
About Rick Riordan's Life and Career
Rick Riordan grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He went to Alamo Heights High School. He first wanted to be a guitarist and studied music. Later, he changed his mind and studied English and History at the University of Texas at Austin. He also earned his teaching certificate from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Riordan taught English and Social Studies for eight years. He worked at Presidio Hill School in San Francisco. In 2021, he earned a master's degree in Gaelic literature from University College Cork.
Rick married Rebecca "Becky" Klahn in 1985. They share the same birthday! They have two sons, Haley and Patrick. In 2013, the family moved to Boston.
Rick Riordan has created many successful book series. His Tres Navarre series, which are mystery novels for grown-ups, won several awards. These include the Shamus Award, Anthony, and Edgar Awards.
The idea for the Percy Jackson series came from bedtime stories. Rick made up these stories about ancient Greek heroes for his son, Haley. Haley had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. This inspired Riordan to make Percy Jackson a character with similar traits. Riordan published The Lightning Thief, the first book in the series, in 2005. Four more books followed, ending with The Last Olympian in 2009.
The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is about a twelve-year-old boy named Percy. He discovers he is the son of the ancient Greek god Poseidon. 20th Century Fox made two movies based on the books between 2010 and 2013. After Percy Jackson's success, Riordan created The Kane Chronicles. This series features a modern-day Egyptian pantheon and two new sibling heroes, Sadie and Carter Kane. He also wrote The Heroes of Olympus, which continues Percy Jackson's story.
Riordan also helped create The 39 Clues children's book series. He wrote some of its books, including The Maze of Bones. This book became a number one bestseller on The New York Times list in 2008. He also wrote the introduction for a special edition of Roger Lancelyn Green's Tales of the Greek Heroes. He said that this book inspired him to write his own Greek mythology series.
In 2022, Riordan co-wrote the pilot episode for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians TV series on Disney+. He also served as an executive producer for the show. Disney had bought Fox in 2019. This allowed them to make the Percy Jackson TV series. Riordan won an Emmy Award as an executive producer when the show's first season won for Outstanding Young Teen Series. He won a second Emmy as a writer for the pilot episode at the 3rd Children's and Family Emmy Awards in 2025.
Exploring Mythology in Rick Riordan's Books
Rick Riordan's books for young readers are all about adapting mythology for today's world. He uses Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse myths. He has created five different novel series based on these ancient stories.
His stories often blend elements unique to his series with historical facts about the myths. They focus on how humans and gods interact. He also often uses English versions of ancient names.
Here are some of the mythologies he explores:
- Greco-Roman mythology: These myths are featured in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles series.
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians
- The Heroes of Olympus
- The Trials of Apollo
- The Nico di Angelo Adventures
- Egyptian mythology: You can find these stories in The Kane Chronicles.
- Norse mythology: These myths are explored in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.
Riordan has mentioned that his interest in mythology started when he was a child. He read many books on Norse mythology after a teacher noticed his love for The Lord of the Rings. He also read classic stories like The Iliad and The Odyssey. He uses his general knowledge of myths as a base for his exciting stories. He has said that Tales of the Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green was one of his first introductions to Greek myths. This book helped him decide to tell myths in his own unique way.
Rick Riordan's Awards and Achievements
Rick Riordan is a highly awarded author. He has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade and Children's books every year from 2011 to 2021. This makes him the most-awarded Goodreads Choice Award winner, surpassing even Stephen King.
Some of his other notable awards include:
- In 1998, he won the Shamus Award and Anthony Award for Big Red Tequila.
- In 1999, he won the Edgar Award for The Widower's Two-Step.
- The Lightning Thief won the Mark Twain Award in 2008 and the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award in 2009.
- His Percy Jackson & the Olympians series won the Milner Award in 2011.
- In 2025, he won two Children's and Family Emmy Awards for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series. One was for Outstanding Young Teen Series as an executive producer, and the other for Outstanding Writing for a Young Teen Program for the pilot episode.
Rick Riordan Presents: Helping New Voices
In 2016, Disney-Hyperion announced a new publishing program. It's called "Rick Riordan Presents" and started in 2018. Rick Riordan's editor, Stephanie Owens Lurie, leads this program.
Rick Riordan Presents doesn't publish books written by Riordan himself. Instead, Rick acts like a "curator." He helps find and recommend other great writers to his many fans. He looks for authors who are already writing exciting stories based on different mythologies. The program especially focuses on "diverse, mythology-based fiction by new, emerging, and under-represented authors." This way, Riordan helps new authors share their amazing stories with the world.
Rick Riordan's Books
Camp Half-Blood Chronicles
This is Rick Riordan's most famous series of books, all about Greek and Roman mythology.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
This original series introduces Percy Jackson, a modern demigod.
- The series includes five main books: The Lightning Thief (2005), The Sea of Monsters (2006), The Titan's Curse (2007), The Battle of the Labyrinth (2008), and The Last Olympian (2009).
- The Senior Year Adventures continues Percy's story with The Chalice of the Gods (2023) and Wrath of the Triple Goddess (2024).
- There are also companion books like The Demigod Files, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes.
The Heroes of Olympus
This sequel series brings together Greek and Roman demigods.
- The five books are The Lost Hero (2010), The Son of Neptune (2011), The Mark of Athena (2012), The House of Hades (2013), and The Blood of Olympus (2014).
- Companion books include The Demigod Diaries.
The Trials of Apollo
This series follows the god Apollo after he is turned into a mortal teenager.
- The five books are The Hidden Oracle (2016), The Dark Prophecy (2017), The Burning Maze (2018), The Tyrant's Tomb (2019), and The Tower of Nero (2020).
- Companion books include Camp Half-Blood Confidential and Camp Jupiter Classified.
The Nico di Angelo Adventures
This series focuses on Nico di Angelo, a popular character from the Percy Jackson world.
- It includes The Sun and the Star (2023) and The Court of the Dead (2025).
The Kane Chronicles
This trilogy explores Egyptian mythology through the adventures of siblings Carter and Sadie Kane.
- The books are The Red Pyramid (2010), The Throne of Fire (2011), and The Serpent's Shadow (2012).
- There are also companion books like Survival Guide and Brooklyn House Magician's Manual.
Demigods and Magicians
This series features exciting crossover stories where characters from Percy Jackson meet characters from The Kane Chronicles.
- The stories are The Son of Sobek (2013), The Staff of Serapis (2014), and The Crown of Ptolemy (2015). They were later published together as an anthology.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
This trilogy dives into Norse mythology with Magnus Chase, a demigod son of a Norse god.
- The books are The Sword of Summer (2015), The Hammer of Thor (2016), and The Ship of the Dead (2017).
- Companion books include Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds and 9 From the Nine Worlds.
This is Rick Riordan's series of mystery novels for grown-ups.
- It includes seven books, starting with Big Red Tequila (1997).
The 39 Clues
Rick Riordan helped create this popular children's series and wrote the first book.
- He wrote The Maze of Bones (2008) and contributed to Vespers Rising (2011).
Graphic novels
Many of Rick Riordan's popular series have been adapted into graphic novels, bringing the stories to life with illustrations.
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Kane Chronicles, and The Heroes of Olympus all have graphic novel versions.
Standalone novels
Rick Riordan has also written novels that are not part of his main series.
- These include Cold Springs (2004) and Daughter of the Deep (2021).
See also
In Spanish: Rick Riordan para niños
