Our Manifesto
Empower the passion, motivate the mission and give the dream direction.
At Riot Time we believe in creativity, curiosity, courage and a little bit of rebellion too. We are not your typical publishing house- we're a movement. A rebellion against boring books and boxed-in thinking. Our mission? To spark personal revolutions one child, one family and one quirky picture book at a time.
Who is Riot Time?
Based in Melbourne, Riot Time is the brain child of Rowan and Patricia Kennan. Partners in life, parents of three and co-consipirators in creative rebellion.
Why we do it - because the world needs more creators, more rebels, more dreamers and doers. We want to challenge the systems and expectations that tell kids and grow-ups what they 'should' be and remind them that they can write their own story.
Rowan was born in Perth and raised in regional Victoria. He always had a way with words. From a young age he was scribbling rhymes, poems and wild ideas. While also exoploring music and art. He saw the world from many angles moving overseas during his adolescents and gathering experiences that shaped his unique world view.
Back in Australia life nudged him toward the 'safe' path. He shelved his creative instincts, took a corporate job and began climbing the ladder. He led high perfroming teams, broke sales records and ticked all the boxes. But something vital was missing.
The dream was still there. Hidden in notebooks and on hard drives and burning under the surface. In 2024 he answered the call and walked away from a high paying job to write, create and build something real. Something that would inspire others to do the same. Riot Time was his leap into creativity, purpose and rebellion.
Patricia moved to Australia from El Salvador at just 6 years old, growing up in a traditional Latin household where family and faith came first. School wasn't her favourite place but friendship, laughter and connection always were.
She entered the workforce young, her corporate journey though was peppered with hard lessons. Redundancies, shattered job security and a dream role that vanished with a company liquidation. Creating a distrust in the corporate world but opening her up to something bigger and a desire to do something meaningful.
She set out on a personal revolution of health, strength and self discovery with running festivals including conquering a marathon, Patrica found new power in her body and mind. She is now right beside Rowan as the co-founder of Riot Time and ready to cause a ruckus.
What we create
We write and publish picture books that are fun, weird and wonderfully wild. Stories that invite kids and their adults to think, imagine, giggle, ask questions - and sometimes start a little rebellion of their own.
Our current collection includes
The Man With The Fish On His Head
All of which are available here on our website or from Amazon.
We're also into journals, art prints, school visits and speaking engagements - designed to ignite curiosity and confidence in both kids and adults.