Rick Riordan is a middle grade superstar. Seriously, authors don’t rank more A-list than him. When it comes to name recognition and reader obsession, you’ve got your J.K. Rowling, your Raina Telgemeier, and your Rick Riordan. That’s the triumvirate, right there.

The father of Percy Jackson (and Magnus Chase… and Carter and Sadie Kane… and – to an extent – the god Apollo), Riordan has managed to breathe vitality, immediacy, relevancy, and a modern take into ancient (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse) mythology.

He’s also recently begun wielding his power for an even greater good with Rick Riordan Presents – an imprint that tells the world’s mythology from an “own voices” perspective. We’ve been huge fans of these books from the beginning, and there hasn’t been a miss among them yet.

(Check out our conversations with imprint authors J.C. Cervantes, Yoon Ha Lee, and Rebecca Roanhorse.)

This week sees the release of The Tyrant’s Tomb: the fourth installment in Riordan’s The Trials of Apollo series. On this episode, we talk about The Tyrant’s Tomb, approaching the end of his massively popular series, teaching middle school, giving voice to new authors with Rick Riordan Presents, and so much more.

And as an added bonus for Roarbots readers (and GBBP listeners), we’re giving away a brand-new copy of The Tyrant’s Tomb! Share the show on social (remember to tag us), and you’re in the running!

You can listen on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, and YouTube; you can follow the RSS feed; or you can listen right here!

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