Reki Kawahara (川原 礫, Kawahara Reki) is a renowned Japanese novelist born on August 18, 1974. He is best known for creating the popular series Sword Art Online and Accel World, both of which have been successfully adapted into anime series.

His journey into the literary world began with his first novel in the Accel World series. In 2008, this work allowed him to participate in the fifth edition of the Dengeki Novel Prize, hosted by ASCII Media Works, where the novel won the "Grand Prize." His debut novel was published on February 10, 2009, by Dengeki Bunko, a subsidiary of the same publisher. By August 2012, twelve volumes of the series had already been published.

The Sword Art Online series was initially written in 2002 and published online under the pseudonym Fumio Kunori (九里 史生). After gaining significant recognition by winning the Dengeki award, Kawahara republished it in print.

In addition to his notable works, on June 10, 2004, he began publishing Absolute Solitude, a series of light novels he started online in 2014, eventually transitioned to print by ASCII Media Works. These novels are illustrated by Shimeji.

Outside of writing, Kawahara's hobbies include cycling.