Author! Teacher! Internet Luminary!

About Ben…

Friend to mortal, beast, and undead alike, Ben Riggs is the hard-bitten yet heroic historian of the tabletop role-playing game industry. His first book, Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons told the never-before-told story of how the first company to publish D&D nearly went bankrupt due to disastrous management decisions and was saved by its bitterest rival. Slaying was a Goodreads Award nominee in 2022 and described by The Washington Post as “a compelling adventure in itself.” His work has also appeared on the Nerdist, Geek & Sundry, and Gizmodo. A graduate of Boston University, he holds BAs in English and history, as well as an MA in education from Alverno College.

By day he is a mild-mannered teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he lives with his beloved wife Tara and dear son Simon.