BIO
Caroline Ryder is a versatile #1 New York Times Bestselling writer who moves fluidly between memoir, screenwriting, and experiential storytelling.
Raised in London by Brazilian and Irish parents, Caroline charted an unconventional path—graduating from the London School of Economics, then working as an assistant at MTV/VH1 and various major record labels before discovering her true calling as a storyteller.
Pursuing this passion, she spent three years as a trainee news reporter at a London newspaper, documenting odd crimes and bizarre local dramas, winning a ‘Journalist of the Year’ award for an off-the-cuff interview at the British Museum with President George Bush Junior (“What do you think of Karl Marx?”)
Soon after, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she pivoted into arts, fashion, and pop culture writing, regularly interviewing artists and A-listers for the covers of Dazed, Cosmopolitan, AnOther magazine, NY Magazine, the LA Times, LA Weekly, and other publications.
She helped launch LA Weekly's pioneering fashion blog, The Style Council, and served as an editor at Shepard Fairey's influential underground art magazine Swindle, later becoming Style Editor at Variety.
Following the 2008 economic downturn, she retreated to Joshua Tree, California, where she began ghostwriting celebrity memoirs. Her collaboration with Bobbie Brown produced "Dirty Rocker Boys," hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest rock memoirs ever written.
Returning to Los Angeles, she earned her MFA in Screenwriting from USC's School of Cinematic Arts. Her horror-comedy screenplay "Mimi and Ulrich," inspired by her friendship with actor Udo Kier, was optioned by Sadie Frost and Emma Comley’s company, Blonde to Black.
She joined the Writers Guild of America after being commissioned to adapt "The Legacy of Mark Rothko," working closely with the artist's daughter. A collaboration with Bananarama's Siobhan Fahey followed; a screenplay about legendary Irish pirate queen Grace O'Malley.
In 2023, she partnered with Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella to conceptualize an Immersive Rave Museum in Las Vegas, alongside forthcoming books chronicling American rave culture's untold history.
She is honored to have co-authored the #1 New York Times Bestselling memoir, “The House of My Mother,” with activist, YouTube star, and abuse survivor Shari Franke, published in January 2025 by Gallery Books to widespread acclaim.
Currently, she's crafting her own memoir about life as an immigrant writer in Los Angeles, while publishing short fiction in literary journals including Maudlin House and the Chestnut Review.
Notable Book Collaborations / Ghostwriting
- "The House of My Mother" by Shari Franke (Gallery, Jan 2025) - *NY Times #1 Bestseller*
- "Give Them Lala" by Lala Kent (Simon & Schuster, 2022) - *National Bestseller*
- "Dirty Rocker Boys" by Bobbie Brown (Simon & Schuster, 2013) - *Named one of the '50 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time' by Rolling Stone*
- "Falling Upwards" by Jeremy Fall (Hachette, 2023)
- "Kicking Up Dirt" by Ashley Fiolek (Harper Collins, 2011) - *Amazon Top 10 Motocross Books*
Exhibition Design
- Insomniac "All Are Welcome Here" Museum Exhibition - Story Design (forthcoming 2025/6)
- "Beyond The Streets" - UK Hip Hop Exhibit, Saatchi Gallery, London (2023)
Coffee Table Books
- "Let There Be GWAR" (Gingko, 2015)
- "Art In The Streets" - Contributing Writer (Gingko, 2018)
- "Live At The Masque: Nightmare in Punk Alley" - Editor (Gingko, 2007)
- Swindle / Icons Issues 1-3
- "Small Gift" - Sanrio
Journalism
*Notable Publications:* T Magazine, New York Magazine, LA Times, Variety, Dazed, The Face, AnOther, Flaunt, Monocle, Billboard, Cosmopolitan, Paper, URB, LA Weekly
Literary Fiction
- "Lana Loves Kid Rock" - Maudlin House, 2024
- "The Harmony Protocol" - Chestnut Review, 2024
- "Wings" - Chestnut Review, 2024
- "The Audition" - Published in "All The King's Horses: An Expression of Depression"
Screenwriting Achievements
- Hedgebrook Screenwriting Lab Fellow
- Sundance Screenwriters Lab - Second Round
- Austin Film Festival - Semi-Finalist
- Academy Nicholl Fellowship - Second Round
- Summer Words, Aspen
Education
- MFA in Screenwriting - USC School of Cinematic Arts
- B.Sc. in Environmental Geography - London School of Economics
- National Council for the Training of Journalists (UK) Level 6, Professional Senior Qualification
Professional Memberships
- Writers Guild of America (WGA)
- American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)