Children's author

Hi, I'm Ryan

I write funny, fast-paced adventures for young readers — and I come to schools, libraries and festivals to inspire those readers to create something themselves!

Cosmic Cadets · Oxford Children's · 2026 GLL Literary Foundation author

Just a kid from Croydon

Books and video games gave me a super-charged imagination growing up. And I was obsessed with space and adventure stories. Today I channel my creativity into my own stories and share them with the next generation!

My superpowers are planning and patience. So anytime I have an idea, I start by planning how I'm going to achieve it. I've seen those ideas turn into ten books, two board games, and a career supporting people and projects.

And my mission is to make sure that I pass on these tools to young writers, illustrators and creatives. I wasn't born a writer. I became one through believing in myself and having the patience to keep going when things get tough!

Ryan Crawford as a schoolboy, in a striped shirt and patterned tie

Ryan Crawford reading What Can We Be? aloud

My Stories

My latest work is an incredible four-book series called Cosmic Cadets for middle-graders. Published by Oxford Children's and illustrated by the incredible Rochelle Falconer. If you're after an bonkers and action-packed space adventure for readers aged 7 to 9, this is for you!

But there's also What Can We Be? — my children's picture book, illustrated by the brilliant Kayla Coombs. And my three stories in Scholastic's Bedtime Stories: Beautiful Black Tales from the Past. I turn black British legends Walter Tull, Lilian Bader and Claudia Jones into bedtime stories you can read with your little ones.

And when the kids have gone to bed — I also write sci-fi and fantasy for older readers as R.A. Crawford.

See My Books

Making Stuff

And I don't stop with just making books. I've designed two board games, and I've spent nearly twenty years in the tech industry, most of it leading engineering teams.

In that time, I've learned that everyone has an imagination and a secret stash of creative potential to unlock — whether that takes the form of products, art, or just a new way of thinking. And while I use my own creativity to leave stories behind for the next generation, I get just as much joy from giving other people the tools to find their own way to grow.

That's why the school visits matter to me as much as the writing does.

Ryan Crawford holding a stack of Ring Rivals card game boxes

Family Life

I'm a husband and a father, and I still live in Croydon, South London. And I'm always on the lookout for new projects and challenges.

So most weeks you'll find me gaming with my son, watching musicals with my daughter, or dancing with my wife.

And halfway through any of those, an idea for something new will probably hit me!