Riley grew up in Freeport, the jewel (and teenage pregnancy capital) of northwestern Illinois. He avoided the temptation of fatherhood and graduated from the University of Southern California in the 21st century. He now writes, directs, and animates stuff.

The winner of the A-List 2020 30-minute Script Competition (reported in THR - wow must be a big deal), Riley has also been honored in the finals, semifinals and quarterfinals of competitions by Final Draft, ScreenCraft, The Script Lab, and had his debut short film selected at LA Shorts International Film Festival.

He hasn’t entered any contests recently because they’re basically a scam, right?

Drawing from his bizarre hometown, Riley writes about unique worlds populated by adventurers with their hearts in the right place, but heads… somewhere else.