Ryan King grew up in Austin, TX, and now lives in the Hudson Valley. He writes film, fiction, and plays. As a playwright, he’s been a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup, the Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Working Farm @ SPACE on Ryder Farm, and the Clubbed Thumb Early Career Writers Group. His plays have been developed by Cape Cod Theatre Project (twice), Naked Angels, Rattlestick Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Ars Nova, Colt Coeur, Primary Stages, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Tofte Lake Emerging Artists Program, Theater of NOTE, and Ground Up Productions. His short play Antares Returning was nominated for Best Short Script by the NY Innovative Theatre Awards.
As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplay for Black Flies, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023...
Ryan King grew up in Austin, TX, and now lives in the Hudson Valley. He writes film, fiction, and plays. As a playwright, he’s been a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup, the Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Working Farm @ SPACE on Ryder Farm, and the Clubbed Thumb Early Career Writers Group. His plays have been developed by Cape Cod Theatre Project (twice), Naked Angels, Rattlestick Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Ars Nova, Colt Coeur, Primary Stages, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Tofte Lake Emerging Artists Program, Theater of NOTE, and Ground Up Productions. His short play Antares Returning was nominated for Best Short Script by the NY Innovative Theatre Awards.
As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplay for Black Flies, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, starring Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan, after being selected for the Black List of Hollywood’s favorite unproduced screenplays. It was recently released as Asphalt City. He also wrote The Tutor, which peaked at #3 on Netflix’s Most Popular Movies list.
Ryan’s short fiction has been published or is forthcoming in Mount Hope Magazine and Jabberwock Review. He was an honorable mention for the 2025 Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Competition, as well as a finalist for The Cincinnati Review’s Schiff Award and Craft Magazine’s Short Fiction Prize.
As an actor, he has appeared regionally and Off-Broadway at theaters including the Atlantic Theater Company, Clubbed Thumb, Second Stage, PS 122, HERE Arts Center, Barrington Stage, Hartford Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Studio Theater, and the Huntington Theater. Education: Yale School of Drama and the University of Texas at Austin.