The Latest Percy Jackson News

The Lightning Thief has won the Mark Twain Award in Missouri and the Virginia Readers Choice Award.

Tour dates have been posted for the Battle of the Labyrinth tour in May. Check the web calendar.

PercyJacksonBooks.com, by Hyperion Books for Children, is now live! More games and activities will be added in May, so keep checking back.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is now in its 50th straight week on the NYT children's series bestseller list.

The Lightning Thief has won the 2008 Massachusetts Children's Book Award! Thanks to all the young readers of the state!

Another state heard from! The Lightning Thief has won the 2008 Grand Canyon Reader Award in Arizona.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is now in its 48th straight week on the NYT children's series bestseller list.

The Lightning Thief has won the Louisiana Young Reader's Choice Award and the South Carolina Young Reader's Choice Award!

One of Russia's largest publishing companies, EKSMO, will be publishing all five of the Percy Jackson series in Russian.

Percy Jackson continues its run on the PW and NYT bestseller lists. This is week 43 for the New York Times list.

The Percy Jackson series has now been on the New York Times children's series bestseller list for 41 weeks straight!

A tentative release date for The Lightning Thief movie has been posted as Nov. 13, 2009. Further information will be posted when it becomes available.

Happy New Year! Fragment Publishers will be translating the Percy Jackson series into Czech and Slovak.

Puffin Books will be reissuing the Percy Jackson series with new covers in the UK. Check them out below. This is just for the British editions. The U.S. edition covers will not change.

Also, Scholastic has just released a promotional video for the 39 Clues. You can check it out here.

Percy Jackson continues its run on the New York Times list. The series has now sold well over a million copies in the U.S. alone and momentum continues to grow.

Fox 2000 continues pre-production work on the Lightning Thief. A second script has been turned in, and as soon as the writers' strike is over (whenever that is), revisions will begin. In the meantime, Fox is budgeting the film and talking with Chris Columbus about concept art to get the "look" of the movie. Everyone is very excited, and it looks likely that the project will continue to move forward.

Scholastic Publishing has announced the 39 Clues, a new series which will launch in Sept. 2008. I wrote the first book, The Maze of Bones, and outlined the story arc for the series. Read the whole article here. The series website will go live in September.

Hyperion Books for Children plans to publish The Lightning Thief as a graphic novel! I'll be consulting on the adaptation, and as a long-time fan of comics and graphic novels, I can't wait. The plan right now is to release the adaption in 2009. I'll keep you posted.

Percy Jackson is in week 30 on the New York Times children's series bestseller list.

The most recent foreign rights news: Percy Jackson has just been sold to Indonesia! Stay tuned for details.

Thanks to Jen Robinson for posting a comprehensive interview with me, with plenty of links. A good place for "one-stop shopping" if you're looking for information about the author.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is in its 27th week on the New York Times children's series bestseller list.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is in its 26th week on the New York Times children's series bestseller list.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for Tennessee's Volunteer State Book Award for 2008-2009.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is now in its 25th straight week on the New York Times children's series bestseller list.

Mondadori has won the rights in auction to Percy Jackson in Italian! The series is now translated, or being translated, into 16 foreign languages.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians continues its run on the New York Times series bestseller list. That's 23 weeks, if anyone is counting!

The Lightning Thief will soon be published in Turkish, Portuguese and Finnish.

Fox 2000 has exercised its option for The Lightning Thief, buying the rights to make the motion picture. This is a good sign, as it increases the odds that the project will go forward. So far, so good! I understand the script is close to completion.

The Battle of the Labyrinth, Percy Jackson & the Olympians book 4, will be published May 6, 2008.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is #4 on the New York Times children's series bestseller list! That makes 21 straight weeks on the list. Percy also continues to be a fixture on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list.

The Lightning Thief American hardcover edition has just been reissued with the green John Rocco cover! Many collectors and fans have been asking about this, so they can get a set of hardcover Percy Jackson books that actually match. I'm pleased to say this is now possible.

The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is now in its 12th week on the New York Times children's series bestseller list at #2, right behind Harry Potter.

The Titan's Curse is in its fourth hardcover printing. The Lightning Thief has gone back for its ninth paperback printing. The series continues its nine-week run on the New York Times children's series bestseller list at #2. There are now over a million copies of the Percy Jackson series in print.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the 2008 Garden State Teen Book Award in New Jersey for grades 6-8.

Happy summer solstice, everyone! The gods are undoubtedly meeting on Olympus today, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians returns to the #1 spot on the New York Times children's series bestseller list just announced for July 1.

The Lightning Thief has been named first runner-up for the Nene Award in Hawaii, making it a Nene Honor Book.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the North Carolina Children's Book Award.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians continues its six-week run on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's series, this week at #2.

The Titan's Curse is #1 on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list for children's hardcover fiction.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians will enjoy a fourth straight week at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's series the week of June 10.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians will enjoy a third week at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's series the week of June 3.

The Titan's Curse and The Lightning Thief are both on the USA Today bestseller list this week.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the 2007-2008 Soaring Eagle Award in Wyoming.

The Sea of Monsters has been nominated for the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award 2008.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the Massachusetts Children's Book Award 2008.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for Hawaii's Nene Recommended Reading List 2008.

The Lightning Thief has been chosen for Al Roker's Book Club for Kids on the Today Show!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians will again be #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's series the week of May 27.

The Titan's Curse has made the BookSense top ten list for children's summer reading.

The Titan's Curse has made the USA Today bestseller list at #26. It is also the #1 bestselling children's title for Borders.

The Lightning Thief has won the Beehive Award for young adult literature, sponsored by the Children's Literature Association of Utah.

The Titan's Curse will debut next week on the New York Times children's series bestseller list at #1!

Another state heard from. The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award in Florida.

The Titan's Curse was the #1 bestselling children's title for Barnes & Noble nationwide last week.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the 2008 Young Readers Choice Award by the Pacific Northwest Library Association.

The Titan's Curse is going back for a third printing, three days after publication, and is second only to Harry Potter on the on-line booksellers' kids' bestseller lists.

It's official. Chris Columbus will direct and produce The Lightning Thief movie for Fox 2000! Columbus's directing credits include the first two Harry Potter films and Home Alone.

Sea of Monsters paperback will debut on the New York Times Bestseller list next week at #9!

The Titan's Curse in the U.S. is not yet released, but it has already gone back for a second printing.

The Lightning Thief has won the Maine Student Book Award. Thanks to all the children in Maine who voted!

The Lightning Thief paperback is now in its seventh printing. The Sea of Monsters, just out in paperback, has already gone into a second printing.

The British Percy Jackson website has been beautifully revised. Check it out here!

The Lightning Thief enjoys another week on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's paperbacks on April 8!

The Percy Jackson series is also back on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list for children's series.

The Lightning Thief will debut on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's paperbacks on March 25!

The Lightning Thief has been selected for the Sequoyah Award Master List for the state of Oklahoma.

The Lightning Thief has won the Warwickshire Book Award in the UK -- the best kind of award, as it is voted on by kids! Thanks to the young readers of Warwickshire.

Another state heard from! The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the 2007-2008 South Carolina Junior Book Award, sponsored by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the 2008 Nutmeg Award by the Connecticut Library Association.

It has also been nominated for the 2008 Blue Spruce Award by the Colorado Library Association.

Mazel Tov! Graff Publishers will be producing a Hebrew translation of The Lightning Thief in Israel. The book will be edited by the same translator who produced the Hebrew version of the Harry Potter books.

The Lightning Thief paperback edition has gone into a sixth printing. The Sea of Monsters has sold through its advance in less than a year and is now in a fourth hardcover printing.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the Grand Canyon Reader Award by the Arizona Library Association.

The Lightning Thief continues its run on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list for children's books.

The Percy Jackson series made the cumulative 2006 BookSense bestseller list for children's series.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the 2007-2008 Mark Twain Award by the Missouri Association of School Librarians.

The Lightning Thief is back on the Publishers Weekly children's bestseller list at #10. Happy holidays!

The Sea of Monsters has been named a Barnes & Noble Best Children's Book of 2006. See the top ten list of staff favorites at BN.com.

Rick will be doing a holiday book signing at Barnes & Noble San Pedro Crossing (across Loop 410 from North Star Mall) in San Antonio from 6-8 PM on Thursday, Dec. 14. Radio Disney will provide music, prizes and entertainment. Signing starts a 7. Come by, get books signed for holiday presents, and hear a reading from The Titan's Curse.

The Sea of Monsters audio version from Listening Library has won the Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine!

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the Warwickshire Book Award for 2007 in the UK.

Rick will appear at Symphony Space (95th and Broadway) in New York on March 4, 2007 at 1 PM for the Guys Read Book Club, co-sponsored by Bank Street Books. Author Jon Scieszka will interview Rick about the Percy Jackson series. For more information, click here.

The Sea of Monsters has been named a Child Magazine Best Book of the Year for 2006.

The Lightning Thief has been shortlisted for the East Sussex Children's Book of the Year (UK).

The Sea of Monsters has been nominated for the YALSA Best Books for Young Adults list for 2007.

The British cover for The Titan's Curse has been unveiled. Check it out below.

The Lighting Thief has been nominated for the Nebraska Golden Sower Young Adult Award for 2007-2008.

John Rocco, the artist who designed the Percy Jackson book covers, has posted the original artwork to Imagekind.com so you can order posters or high quality prints of any of the three Percy Jackson covers. I'm thinking the posters would be great for libraries and classrooms. Or what a great Christmas/Hannukah gift idea for the discerning fan. You can check them out here.

Seoul Education Co. will be publishing the Korean translation of The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters.

BonnierCarlsen will be publishing the Swedish edition of The Titan's Curse. You can look for a reissue of all three Percy Jackson books in Swedish with the new covers using the British cover art.

Something is *not* rotten in Denmark! Carlsen Publishers have announced that they will publish the Danish edition of The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters.

How to Throw a Percy Party. Booksellers and librarians: many of you have expressed an interest in hosting an in-store party for the launch of The Titan's Curse on May 1. Because of this, I've put together an event kit with games, flyers, activities, special readings, and all sorts of easy ideas to make a fun Greek mythology party for your local half-bloods. If you'd like a free copy of the event kit emailed to you, just drop me a line!

The Lightning Thief has made the recommended reading list for the 2007 Nene Award in Hawaii.

The Lightning Thief paperback edition continues its run on the Publishers Weekly national children's bestseller list! September makes five straight months.

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award 2008.

The Lightning Thief continues its four-month run on the Publishers Weekly national children's bestseller list!

The Englewood Public Library of Englewood, Colorado is hosting an after-school Camp Half-Blood program, based on the Percy Jackson books, for kids 9-13! Check it out on their website.

The Sea of Monsters has debuted at #4 on the children's bestseller list for New Zealand. Thanks to all my New Zealander readers!

The Sea of Monsters has gone into a third hardcover US printing and The Lightning Thief paperback edition has gone into its fifth printing.

The American release month for Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book Three: The Titan's Curse will be May 2007.

The Spanish version of The Lightning Thief available at last -- PERCY JACKSON Y LOS DIOSES DEL OLIMPO: EL LADRÓN DEL RAYO -- from Salamandra Publishers of Spain! Check out their website here: http://www.salamandra.info/.

The Germans come through again with the funniest cover for Sea of Monsters. Check it out below from Carlsen Publishing. I'm pretty sure that title doesn't say Sea of Monsters, either . . . "The Cyclops needs to use Ban?" Perhaps.

The Lightning Thief is presently on the bestseller list for both the New England Booksellers Association and the Southern California Booksellers Association.

Sarah Hughes, my Puffin editor (back row, left) accepts the Red House Children's Book Award for me at the Hay Literary Festival.

One year exactly since The Lightning Thief was published, and what a year it's been! I'm happy to report that The Lightning Thief has now sold through its advance and continues to do very well thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations from kids, booksellers and librarians. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed the book and has recommended it to others. I couldn't do it without you!

The Japanese cover for The Lightning Thief has just been released on line. Check it out below!

Also check out the alternate covers for The Lightning Thief, done as a school project by the fifth graders at Carrillo Elementary in San Antonio.

The Lightning Thief has debuted at Number 12 on the Publishers Weekly children's bestseller list!

Twentieth Century Fox has renewed their feature film option for The Lightning Thief. Work continues on the script revisions.

The Sea of Monsters has gone into a second hardcover printing! The Lightning Thief paperback edition is now in its third printing.

The Sea of Monsters has been named a BookSense Top Ten Summer Pick for 2006!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Sea of Monsters event at BookPeople in Austin! Some pictures below, courtesy of BookPeople.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has debuted at #9 on the BookSense national bestseller list for children's series!

The Lightning Thief has been nominated for the Rhode Island Teen Book Award 2007 and the Utah Beehive Award 2007.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the first leg of the US Sea of Monsters book tour! Great school visits and bookstore crowds in the Chicago area and around New York. Click here for a fun slide of Rick with the students of Marie Murphy School in Wilmette, Illinois.

The Lightning Thief has won the UK Torchlight Children's Book Award, sponsored by Askews Library Services. The award is voted on by young readers across the United Kingdom. See the official announcement below. Thanks to all my British readers!

The Sea of Monsters has officially launched in the U.S.! Thanks to everyone who came out for the first two signings in San Antonio and waited so patiently to get books signed. Congratulations to the attendees who received the new orange "Demigod in Training" T-shirts, made possible by Hyperion Books.

Great early reviews are starting to come in the Sea of Monsters. The following ran in the Dallas Morning News yesterday:

Adventures in mythology continue
KIDS' BOOKS: Second story about Percy Jackson is witty, fun

08:51 PM CDT on Sunday, April 2, 2006
By NANCY CHURNIN / The Dallas Morning News

The Lightning Thief began as a bedtime story to please one child, the myth-loving son of San Antonio author Rick Riordan. But it ended, happily, as a tween book phenom. Now Mr. Riordan raises the ante in the second of a projected five books about Percy Jackson, a contemporary kid who discovers that the Greek gods and goddesses are real and that he has Olympian blood on his father's side.

The Sea of Monsters picks up at the end of Percy's seventh-grade year. Percy spent much of The Lightning Thief learning his true identity, making two best friends, a tin-can chomping satyr named Grover and the smartest girl at Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth, the daughter of Athena. They went on a quest and saved the world.

But as Percy learns early on in the new book, the world still needs saving. The magical protections are fading around the campgrounds. The gods blame and banish Chiron, the wise, kindly centaur headmaster. Taking his place is cruel Tantalus (yes, the mythological Tantalus, who has food and drink snatched away at the last moment). In other words, the gods may be all-powerful, but they're not very bright.

Harry Potter fans may recognize common classic archetypes and story structure. Camp Half-Blood suggests a Greek mythology version of Hogwarts, with the kids divided up into cabins of the different gods and goddesses. Chiron is a Dumbledore-like mentor who has molded heroes for millennia. There's even a mysterious prophecy about Percy, reminiscent of the one about Harry in Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix . Here, it's courtesy of an oracle, and the meaning won't be fully unraveled until Percy's 16th birthday (and final book).

But The Sea of Monsters is no mere knockoff. It's witty and fun, with unique twists that emanate directly from the world of myths. You meet modern Cyclopes, find out a cool secret about the Golden Fleece and get a contemporary, poignant spin on the Sirens. There's an emotionally nourishing side, too. The themes of friendship, family and forgiveness go down well. Best of all for young fans, there's a cliffhanger ending that should whet the appetite for more.

The Lightning Thief has been named a 2006 Notable Children's Book by the National Council for Teachers of English.

The Cooperative Children's Book Center (University of Wisconsin) has included The Lightning Thief in its best books list for 2006 -- the CCBC Choices.

Percy Jackson is going home to Greece! Minoas Editions plans to publish the Greek edition of The Lightning Thief! Can the Latin edition be far behind?

The Germans take the award for funniest cover for The Lightning Thief! See below from Carlsen Publishing. Also check out the German web site. It rocks!

February 22, 2006

A nice article on The Lightning Thief ran today in the Dallas Morning News.

Greek gods, modern hero

'Lightning Thief' began as a bedtime story

11:11 AM CST on Wednesday, February 22, 2006

By NANCY CHURNIN / The Dallas Morning News

RANDY MACK BISHOP/DMN

What if the Greek gods and goddesses were real? What if they were still around? What if they were having kids? And what if one of those kids didn't have a clue who he really was until he turned 12?

That's the idea behind The Lightning Thief (Miramax/Hyperion, $17.95), by Rick Riordan (pronounced RYE-or-dan). Mr. Riordan says he would never have written the book if not for his son, Haley.

"Haley was in second grade," says Mr. Riordan from his home in San Antonio. "He was having a rough year. He didn't like writing. He didn't like reading. He had borderline dyslexia and ADHD."

The one thing Haley did like was Greek myths. Every night at bedtime, he would ask his dad to tell him one. Mr. Riordan told Haley all the ones he knew, but Haley wanted more.

"There haven't been any new ones in 2,000 years," he told Haley.

"Can't you make one up?" Haley pleaded.

So Mr. Riordan began the story of Percy "Perseus" Jackson, who finds out he's the son of a Greek god. Because of Haley, Mr. Riordan gave Percy ADHD and dyslexia, and made those signs of Olympian blood.

Also Online

Listen in as Nancy and Rick Riordan discuss how The Lightning Thief came about and where the series is going.

When Mr. Riordan finished telling the tale, Haley asked him to turn it into a book.

He did, and The Lightning Thief became an immediate hit. The sequel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters – Book Two, comes out April 1. Mr. Riordan, 41, has already finished a draft of what will be the third in a planned five-book series.

Mr. Riordan credits Haley, 11, with jokes and cool book details, including a water slide in the Lotus Room, which is also filled with video games.

But what makes Mr. Riordan most proud is Haley, who recently wrote a 30-page story.

"It's fantastic to see him so interested in storytelling," his dad says.

"As a parent, it's always your first wish that your child will be happy and successful. He has really made strides from those rocky days of second grade. I'm incredibly proud."

E-mail nchurnin@dallasnews.com

AT A GLANCE

Who: Rick Riordan, author of The Lightning Thief

What: Arts & Letters Live Jr.

Where: Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St.

When: 3 p.m. Sunday, followed by a book signing. Join teen docents on a tour of ancient art collections inspired by themes in the book at 2:15 and 4:15 p.m., no additional charge

Tickets: $7, children; $10 adults

More info: Call 214-922-1219 or visit www.DallasMuseumofArt.org. Want to know more about The Lightning Thief or ask Mr. Riordan a question? Visit his Web site at www.rickriordan.com.

The Lightning Thief has been short-listed for the Red House Children's Book Award in the United Kingdom. The award, which is voted upon entirely by children, will be announced at the Hay Literary Festival in June.

Thanks to the Lower School Mock Newbery Committee of the Winsor School, Boston, Massachusetts, who voted The Lightning Thief winner of their Mock Newbery Award -- the best award, as it comes straight from young readers!

The Lightning Thief has been named an American Library Association Notable Book of 2005 and a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults.

Several readers in Britain have asked about an audio version. An abridged audio version of The Lightning Thief will be available in the United Kingdom on May 4 from Puffin Children's Audio, ISBN: 0149060963.

The publication date for The Sea of Monsters in Great Britain has been moved forward to July 1!

Many thanks to the young readers in the Newbery Visionaries club at Darien Library in Connecticut, who chose The Lightning Thief as a mock Newbery honor book.

USA Today ran a great article about The Lightning Thief on Thursday, January 18. In case you missed it, the article can be found here.

From Publishers Weekly's "Cuffies," off-the-cuff awards from independent children's booksellers:

Our Vote to Win the Newbery
Honorable mention: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan ("Because something fun, fantastic and fabulous should win. Can we please give death, divorce and other social tensions a year off?")

Favorite Book to Handsell

The Lightning Thief ("because every customer between nine and 14 can't be wrong")

The Lightning Thief has been chosen for the Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best book list for 2005.

Many thanks to the young readers of the Newbery Book Clubs of Northport Public Library in Long Island and Durant Road Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Both groups voted The Lightning Thief winner of their Mock Newbery Award -- the award that means the most, since it comes straight from the kids!

The Lightning Thief was chosen as a recommended holiday book by Karen Grigsby Bates, literary editor for National Public Radio, on today's broadcast of Day to Day. Click here to read the story and hear the review.

Commentator Molly Ivins included The Lightning Thief in her holiday book guide, which was syndicated in several newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and the Sacramento Bee:

"For children on your list, the Great and Invaluable Eden Lipson, now retired from the New York Times, points out that not only is there a new Harry Potter, but no self-respecting bookstore will be out of it. "The Lightning Thief" is an adventure for kids in the mid-grades by Rick Riordan: A boy with attention deficit disorder turns out to be the son of the sea god, Poseidon."

The Detroit Free Press included The Lightning Thief as a best book of 2005 in its holiday children's list.

Advance reading copies of The Sea of Monsters have arrived! If you are a reviewer or a bookseller and you haven't received an ARC yet, ask your Hyperion Books for Children rep!

The Lightning Thief has been named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

The audio version of The Lightning Thief from Listening Library has received the AudioFile Earphones Award. From the review:

"Narrator Jesse Bernstein artfully creates a variety of characters, including nervous goat-boy Grover and bossy wise-girl Annabeth (Athena's daughter), but his masterpiece is the boyish and sarcastic Percy himself. Bernstein also rises to the challenge of giving voice to the Olympians. From Aries's growling and guttural snarls to Zeus's haughty tones, Bernstein breathes new life into these ancient characters. Adults and children alike will be spellbound as they listen to this deeply imaginative tale unfold."

It has been named one of the Best children's books of 2005 by School Library Journal and has made the Askews Torchlight 2006 shortlist for children's literature in the United Kingdom.

The Texas State Reading Association recently honored Rick with the Brenda Cockrell Award for Outstanding Service to TSRA for his visits to schools and reading councils throughout the state.

The Lightning Thief has been named one of the Bluebonnet Award finalists by the Texas Library Association for 2006-2007!

It has also been named one of the best children's books of 2005 by Child Magazine.

Rick Riordan has signed a new three-book contract with Hyperion Books for Children to complete the five book Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Riordan has also signed a three-book contract with Puffin Books to complete the series in the United Kingdom.

Official publication date for the UK edition of The Lightning Thief! Check out the awesome British website for the series, put together by my publisher Puffin.

Rick Riordan with his UK editor, Sarah Hughes, in front of a wall of Percy Jackson!

More news: The first draft of the movie script has been finished and revisions are underway. Also in the US, Hyperion is designing a cool new cover for The Lightning Thief paperback edition and The Sea of Monsters. More information to come!

Thanks to readers for all the great emails you've been sending! The most frequently asked question: When does the next book come out? The latest news is that Hyperion is planning to release The Sea of Monsters in April 2006. If that changes, I'll let you know!

One month since pub date! The Lightning Thief is featured as a Borders "fresh voices" pick for the month of August. The reviews are also starting to roll in. A starred review from School Library Journal follows:

*RIORDAN, Rick. The Lightning Thief. 377p. (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, Bk. #1). Hyperion/Miramax. 2005. RTE $17.95. ISBN 0-7868-5629-7. LC number unavailable.

Gr 5-9–An adventure-quest with a hip edge. At first glance, Perseus Jackson seems like a loser (readers meet him at a boarding school for troubled youth), but he’s really the son of Poseidon and a mortal woman. As he discovers his heritage, he also loses that mother and falls into mortal danger. The gods (still very active in the 21st-century world) are about to go to war over a lost thunderbolt, so Percy and sidekicks Grover (a young satyr) and Annabeth (daughter of Athena) set out to retrieve it. Many close calls and monster-attacks later, they enter Hades’s realm (via L.A.). A virtuoso description of the Underworld is matched by a later account of Olympus (hovering 600 floors above Manhattan). There’s lots of zippy review of Greek myth and legend, and characters like Medusa, Procrustes, Charon, and the Eumenides get updates. Some of the Labors of Heracles or Odysseus’s adventures are recycled, but nothing seems stale, and the breakneck pace keeps the action from being too predictable. Percy is an ADHD, wise-cracking, first-person narrator. Naturally, his real quest is for his own identity. Along the way, such topics as family, trust, war, the environment, dreams, and perceptions are raised. There is subtle social critique for sophisticated readers who can see it. Although the novel ends with a satisfying conclusion (and at least one surprise), it is clear that the story isn’t over. The 12-year-old has matured and is ready for another quest, and the villain is at large. Readers will be eager to follow the young protagonist’s next move.–Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George’s School, Newport, RI

Official "pub day" for The Lightning Thief! Thanks to all those who came out for my two signings in Houston. Great events at both Blue Willow Bookstore and Murder by the Book. We read chapter one, ate blue jelly beans from Sally Jackson's candy shop and had a wonderful time discussing mythology!

Thorndike Press to publish a U.S. large print edition of The Lightning Thief -- tentative availability date January 2006.

The Detroit Free Press reviewed The Lightning Thief as a featured pick for their summer reading club of kids.

"Just in time for eager fans awaiting the July 16 release of the next 'Harry Potter' book. This debut by adult mystery writer Rick Riordan of a young reader's fantasy series involving the Greek gods . . . is a hit. This page-turner is especially perfect for fifth-graders, because sixth grade is usually when Greek mythology is introduced in language arts classes.

The best part is Riordan's gift as a middle-school teacher for getting the kids in the story just right. You might wonder how Riordan pulls it off, but trust me, he does. It's so clever you might want to give The Lightning Thief a read yourself."

The Lightning Thief will be a feature selection for Bookspan (Children's Book-of-the-Month Club & Kids BookPlanet Book Club) in Fall 2005.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the first book signing of The Lightning Thief at the Twig Book Shop in San Antonio. The store sold out their 100 copies in the first twenty minutes and ordered 50 more to fill the additional orders. Apologies to everyone who came and didn't get a book! But hopefully you'll get your signed copies very quickly.

Rick Riordan to be a featured author for the National Council for Teachers of English annual convention, Fall 2005.

Saint Mary's Hall (where Rick Riordan used to teach) based their 5th grade spring dance performance on The Lightning Thief. Satyrs and Furies never danced so well in leotards before! Check out the cast picture below. Recognize any of the characters?

British edition of The Lightning Thief to be published September 2005. Click on the cover to visit Puffin/Penguin UK.

Swedish edition of The Lightning Thief to be published in May 2005. Click below to visit BonnierCarlsen, the publisher.

(Variety) — "Shrek" scribe Joe Stillman has been hired by Fox 2000 Pictures to adapt "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief," based on the children's book of the same name by Rick Riordan.

Moppet fave centers on the demigod offspring of Poseidon, a 12-year-old boy who sets out on a quest in present-day America to rescue his mother, return Zeus' stolen lightning bolt and prevent a civil war from erupting among the gods.

Stillman cut his teeth as a TV writer on Mike Judge's MTV skein, "Beavis and Butt-head," going on to pen the feature "Beavis and Butt-head Do America" and serving as a writer on Judge's long-running Fox skein, "King of the Hill."

Most recently, CAA-repped Stillman penned "Curious George" for Universal and co-wrote DreamWorks' sequel to the boffo 2001 animated hit "Shrek," based on William Steig's book.

Holp Shuppan to publish Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in Japanese translation.

Albin Michel to publish Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in French translation. Purchase by Anne Michel in a two-book deal.

Thailand publisher Jamsai to publish Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in Thai translation.

Carlsen, the German publisher for Harry Potter, to publish Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, in German translation. Purchase by Barbara Koenig.

From The San Antonio Express-News 8/29/04, reprinted in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Providence Journal and the Dallas Morning News

An original bedtime story ("Gee, Dad, that's pretty good, you should write that down ...") recently sparked a book-industry bidding war and subsequent movie deal for the San Antonio writer best known for his award-winning novels featuring San Antonio private detective Tres Navarre.

Written for the 9-to-14 set after a story he made up for his now 9-year-old-son, Haley, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" is Riordan's first book for children, set for June 2005 publication.

"I just made it up off the top of my head, pulling out old myths and modernizing them," Riordan says. "It took three or four nights to complete the whole story, and my son told me I should write it as a novel."

"Lightning Thief" is the first book of a planned five-book "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series.

"It's about a 12-year-old kid who discovers he's the son of a Greek god," Riordan says. "He's the son of Poseidon, and he travels across the U.S. to retrieve a lightning bolt stolen from Zeus."

Zeus, being Zeus, would not be a happy god if he discovers the bolt is missing, so 12-year-old Percy's mission — to find the entrance to the Underworld and prevent a war among the gods — is urgent, to say the least.

Very happy, however, is Miramax Hyperion, which outbid four other publishers to make the two-book deal.

"It's a book that combines an ordinary boy (well, not so ordinary), a cross-country chase, a Greyhound bus and Greek gods. Who wouldn't be interested?" says Brenda Bowen, vice president and editor in chief of Hyperion Books for Children.

"Only the most assured authors can convincingly combine disparate elements," she added. "Rick Riordan does that in this book — with ease. It's a trick every author wishes he or she could pull off, but very few can.

"The book," Bowen said, "is one of our major titles for spring 2005. We'll be supporting it with a big promotional campaign next summer. We see it as the back-to-school novel for middle-grade kids. They're learning about the Greek gods — why not learn through an action-packed adventure story like 'The Lightning Thief'?"

Riordan sent the manuscript out under the pseudonym Ransom Reese ("It's actually one of my ancestors") because he "wanted to see if it would get any attention because of the book and not because I was already published."

"I was reticent about how it would be received because it was so different from what I'd done before," he says.

The advance paid to Riordan is significant enough to allow him to quit his job at Saint Mary's Hall, the exclusive Northeast San Antonio academy where Riordan taught, among other things, mythology over the last six years.

"I didn't realize how thirsty kids are for good books, which is ironic, since I was a teacher for so long," Riordan says.

Riordan declined to disclose the amount paid, but he did say: "This is a whole different world for me. It's certainly head and shoulders above what I receive for my adult fiction."

Which — never fear, Navarre fans — Riordan plans to continue writing, having just signed a new two-book contract with Bantam for his Tres Navarre series, which has earned the San Antonio author the top three awards for the mystery genre — the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus.

Thanks to J.K. Rowling and her creation, Harry Potter, the young adult market is teeming with fantasy books. The books rely on strong central characters, and Percy is that: Diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and dyslexia, Percy is boarding at Yancy Academy, a boarding school for problem teens in upstate New York. It's his sixth school is six years because trouble seems to follow him around. "Strange, sometimes dangerous things happen to him," Riordan notes at www.rickriordan.com.

Film rights for "Percy Jackson" have been picked up by Madonna's Maverick films, which plans to produce the film version of "Lightning Thief" at Fox 2000 Pictures, with Maverick principal Guy Oseary producing, Daily Variety reports.

In addition, Listening Library plans to produce an audio version of the book simultaneously with its June 2005 release.

"It's a real hoot," Riordan says. "I wasn't expecting it to be as well-received as it was."

San Antonio author Rick Riordan, known for hard-edged mysteries, has a contract from Miramax for a children's fantasy, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Watch out, Harry Potter!

Listening Library to publish audio version of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief simultaneously with Miramax's US print edition.

Salamandra, the Spanish publisher for Harry Potter, to publish Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in a World Spanish Rights deal.

From Publishers Weekly, Hot Deals

5/18/04

Miramax in Two-Book Children's Buy

Jonathan Burnham at Miramax made a two-book buy of a children's book
and its sequel, "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" by Rick
Riordan, representing his first efforts as a children's author

It was a significant advance for North American rights, paid to agent
Nancy Gallt, who also sold the package to Sarah Hughes at Penguin
U.K., in a deal arranged by Rosemary Canter at Peters Fraser & Dunlop.

In the fantasy novel, hero Percy is a 12-year-old who suffers from
both Attention Deficit Disorder and dyslexia, and whose father happens
to be the Greek god Poseidon; Percy is given the job of recovering a
lightning bolt stolen from Zeus, before the discovery of the theft
starts a war between the gods.

Riordan has hitherto been known as an author of Edgar-winning
Texas-based mysteries starring tough and brainy private investigator
Tres Navarre.