Michael J. Sullivan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author, and no one is more surprised by those facts than he. When just a boy, Michael found a typewriter in the basement of a friend's house, inserted a blank piece of paper, and typed, "It was a dark and stormy night." He was just ten years old and mimicking the only writer he knew at the time: Snoopy. That spark ignited a flame, and Michael's desire to fill blank pages became a life-long obsession. As an adult, Michael spent more than ten years developing his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck. Currently, Michael has released twenty-one novels (twenty based in his fantasy world Elan) across 4 series: The Riyria Revelations (6 books), The Riyria Chronicles (5 books), Legends of the First Empire (6 books), Rise and Fall (3 Books). Michael is a hybrid author who has done it all: small press (Aspirations Media and Tachyon Publishing), big-five (Orbit - fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group and Del Rey - fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House), and self-publishing (15 novels).

His work has been translated into 15 foreign languages. Michael's first book was published with a small press in 2008. He self-published the rest of that series from 2009 - 2010, and his big-five tenure was from from 2011 - 2019. Today, he enthusiastically embraces self-publishing including utilizing Kickstarters for book launches and deluxe limited editions. Michael is currently working on three projects: - The Cycle - a five book series that takes place after the events in the Riyria Revelations (2 books written) - After the Fall - a three book series that takes place after the events in the Rise and Fall series (1 book written) - Blythin Castle. the sixth Riyria Chronicle tale.