Riley Black
{{Short description|American paleontologist and science writer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Riley Black
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| alma_mater = Rutgers University
| occupation = Paleontologist and science writer
| known_for = Author of natural history books and articles
| awards = NCSE Friend of Darwin award (2024);{{cite web | url=https://ncse.ngo/friend-darwin-and-friend-planet-awards-ceremony-2024 | title=Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet Awards ceremony 2024 | National Center for Science Education }}
AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books (2023){{cite web | url=https://www.sbfprize.org/the-last-days-of-the-dinosaurs | title=The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World }}
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Riley Black (formerly Brian Switek) is an American paleontologist and science writer.{{cite journal |title=Queer voices in palaeontology |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02113-6|journal=Nature |date=2019 |doi=10.1038/d41586-019-02113-6 |access-date=18 February 2023 |last1=Black |first1=Riley |pmid=32620880 |url-access=subscription }}{{cite web |title=Articles by Riley Black from Smithsonian Magazine |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/author/riley-black/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}} As “a widely-recognized expert on paleontology,”{{Cite web |last=Suburu of America, Inc. |date=March 1, 2023 |title=Subaru of America and AAAS announce winners of 2023 Prize for Excellence in Science Books |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/subaru-of-america-and-aaas-announce-winners-of-2023-prize-for-excellence-in-science-books-301759984.html |url-status=usurped |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=PR Newswire |language=en}} she is the author of natural history books such as When the Earth was Green, The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Skeleton Keys, and My Beloved Brontosaurus.
Biography
Black studied Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Rutgers University.{{cite web |title=Riley Black — Museum of the Earth |url=https://www.museumoftheearth.org/daring-to-dig/bio/black |website=Museum of the Earth |date=20 August 2020 |access-date=18 February 2023}} She is a prolific author,{{Cite web |last=The King's English Bookshop |title=Riley Black & Dallin Kohler, Tuesday Jul 8th, 2025 |url=https://www.kingsenglish.com/events/2979920250708 |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=King’s English |language=en}} known for her “accessible and beautiful writing,”{{Cite web |last=Breitinger |first=Jim |date=June 7, 2022 |title=Science writer Riley Black illuminates the day that changed life on earth forever |url=https://nhmu.utah.edu/articles/2023/05/science-writer-riley-black-illuminates-day-changed-life-earth-forever |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Natural History Museum of Utah |language=en}} who encourages everyone to learn from the experts and embrace the sciences, regardless of educational background.{{Cite web |last=Tripathy-Lang |first=Alka |date=2024-07-25 |title=Riley Black: Bringing fossils to life |url=https://eos.org/features/riley-black-bringing-fossils-to-life |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Eos (American Geophysical Union) |language=en-US}}
Riley Black’s books include When the Earth was Green{{Cite web |last=Horan |first=Richard |date=March 7, 2025 |title=Earth's green evolution gave rise to everything from dinosaurs to dandelions |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2025/0307/paleontology-riley-black-when-the-earth-was-green |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=CSMonitor}} (released in 2025), The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Skeleton Keys, and My Beloved Brontosaurus.{{cite web |title=Riley Black |url=https://slate.com/author/riley-black |website=Slate Magazine |access-date=18 February 2023 |language=en}} Her engaging style of writing is consistently informed by science.{{Cite web |last=St. Louis County Library |date=March 19, 2025 |title=Paleontologist and bestselling author Riley Black on "When the Earth Was Green" |url=https://www.slcl.org/news/paleontologist-and-bestselling-author-riley-black-when-earth-was-green |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=www.slcl.org}} Her work vividly provides the deep knowledge necessary—knowledge of geology, evolution, ecology, paleontology, and more—to understand and appreciate the history and future of life on our planet.{{Cite journal |last=Kendall |first=George |date=January 1–15, 2025 |title=When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance [book review] |journal=Booklist |volume=121 |issue=9/10 |pages=11 |via=Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)}} She began her career as a science writer by launching the blog Laelaps, eventually branching out to write columns for a number of popular periodicals. Publishers Weekly praises her work on Last Days of Dinosaurs as “top-drawer science writing” that carefully explains to the reader the myriad ways in which scientists reach their conclusions.{{Cite journal |title=The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World [book review] |journal=Publishers Weekly |volume=269 |issue=4 |pages=45 |via=Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (EBSCO)}}
Black was hired as "resident paleontologist" for the 2015 film Jurassic World.{{cite web |title=About Riley |url=http://rileyblack.net/about-riley |website=Riley Black |access-date=18 February 2023}} She is a regular guest on the radio show/podcast Science Friday.{{Cite web |title=Riley Black |url=https://www.sciencefriday.com/person/riley-black/ |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Science Friday |language=en-US}} She starred in the 2022 documentaries Alaskan Dinosaurs and Dinosaur Apocalypse. She also gives lectures and talks on a regular basis, and was opening speaker at the 82nd annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.{{Cite news |last=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology |title=Future/Past Meetings |url=https://vertpaleo.org/future-past-meetings/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129180347/https://vertpaleo.org/future-past-meetings/ |archive-date=2023-01-29 |access-date=2025-07-11 |work=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en-US}}
Black previously wrote under the name Brian Switek.{{cite web |title=My Own Personal Extinction |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/laelaps/my-own-personal-extinction/ |access-date=18 February 2023 |website=Scientific American Blog Network |language=en}} In 2019, she came out publicly as transgender and non-binary and started hormone replacement therapy.{{Cite web |title=Riley Black |url=https://community.geosociety.org/gbgm/dfg/rileyblack |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=Geobiology & Geomicrobiology Division}} In the journal Nature she remarks that “palaeontology presents queer people with terrain as challenging as any fossil-flecked desert.” Yet at the same time, “… for Riley, the field is also a place of healing.”{{Cite web |last=Frantz |first=Carie |date=July 2020 |title=Riley Black - info and affiliations |url=https://community.geosociety.org/gbgm/dfg/rileyblack |access-date=2025-07-11 |website=Geological Society of America, Geobiology & Geomicrobiology Division |language=en}}
Bibliography
= Books =
- Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature. New York: Bellevue Literary Press. 2010. {{ISBN|9781934137291}}
- My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs. New York: Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2013. {{ISBN|9780374534264}}
- The T. Rex Handbook. Kennebunkport, ME: Applesauce Press. 2016. {{ISBN|9781604336030}}
- Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone. New York: Riverhead Books. 2019. {{ISBN|9780399184901}}
- Deep Time: An Illustrated Exploration of 4.5 Billion Years of Time Through Artefacts, Places and Phenomena. 2021. London: Welbeck. {{ISBN|9781787397439}}
- Dinosaurs: Profiles from a Lost World. New York: Shelter Harbor Press. 2022. {{ISBN|9781627951838}}
- The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2022. {{ISBN|9781250271044}}
- Prehistoric Predators. Kennebunkport, ME: Appleseed Press Book Publishers. 2022. {{ISBN|9781604642612}}
- Deep Water. London: Welbeck. 2023. {{ISBN|9781802792584}}
- When the Earth was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2025. {{ISBN|9781250288998}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://rileyblack.net/ Official website]
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American women paleontologists
Category:Non-binary scientists