Tyrant Lizard Queen: Riley Black
Let’s take a break from “rage Friday” and enjoy a “science Friday” instead! Join us on October 23 as we welcome special guest Riley Black to discuss her new book Tyrant Lizard Queen. 
Click here to register for this virtual talk.
From the author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Riley Black’s latest book is an imaginative celebration of Tyrannosaurus rex, tracking a dinosaur named Snaggletooth from hatching to adulthood. While T. rex is famous as a massive, bone-crushing predator, Black uses the latest fossil discoveries to reveal a more nuanced, sensitive life. Readers follow Snaggletooth as she navigates a dangerous Cretaceous North America—surviving hunts, tussling with rivals, courting, nesting, and finding moments of connection. The narrative offers even die-hard dinosaur fans a fresh perspective and deeper appreciation for the Tyrant Lizard Queen.
Riley Black (she/they) is the author of When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals and Evolution’s Greatest Romance, winner of the 2024 A Friend of Darwin Award, and The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, winner of the 2023 AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books.
Riley has been a fossil fanatic since the time she was knee-high to a Stegosaurus. Her evolution into a science writer and amateur paleontologist was only natural. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, right in the center of dinosaur country, they chase tales of vanished lives from museum collections to remote badlands.
A prolific writer, Riley’s byline has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, Slate, Smithsonian, Nature, Science, atmos, Popular Science, New Scientist, SIERRA, and many more. She’s also been a frequent guest on radio programs such as Science Friday and All Things Considered, and Riley was among the paleontologists highlighted in the NOVA documentaries “Alaskan Dinosaurs” and “Dinosaur Apocalypse.” In a dream come true, Riley was also the “resident paleontologist” and consultant to the Jurassic World franchise. Her expertise has also led Riley to speak at a variety of venues from the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History to Dinosaur National Monument, most prominently delivering the 2022 keynote at tthe he annual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting.