Elizabeth Ruth (born 1968) is a Canadian novelist.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Ruth was born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, was raised by a single, unmarried mother, and moved frequently while growing up, including living in Detroit, Michigan, in Canada, and in Bogota,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Those early years shaped her, she says, and offered the best informal education one could have in resourcefulness, survival, and love. Formally, she earned an Honours BA in English Literature and Women's Studies (University of Toronto) an MA in Counselling Psychology niversity of Torontoand an MFA in Creative Writing (University of Guelph).

Career

Before becoming a published writer, Elizabeth Ruth worked for over a decade in the field of front line mental health and in homeless shelters with women and children. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''Ten Good Seconds of Silence'', was nominated for the

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...

, the Books in Canada First Novel Award and the City of Toronto Book Award in 2001. Her second novel, ''Smoke'', was published in 2005 and later chosen as the winner of the One Book One Community Program. (Waterloo, Ontario region). Both novels are published by Random House in Germany. In 2013 Elizabeth Ruth published a third novel, Matadora, to critical acclaim. Her fourth novel, Semi-Detached is forthcoming in 2023. Elizabeth edited the anthology, Bent On Writing: Contemporary Queer Tales, based on work by LGBTQ2+ writers presented at her long-running reading series. She published a GoodReads novella in plain language for adult literacy learners, entitled, Love You To Death. Elizabeth Ruth is well known for her mentorship of aspiring writers through the Humber School for Writers’ Correspondence Program, Diaspora Dialogues, Writers in Electronic Residence, and various writer-in-residencies. She is a favourite at bookclubs, libraries, author events. Openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

, Ruth also curated a monthly reading series for five years, "Clit Lit", for Canadian LGBTQ+ writers in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 2019 Elizabeth was chosen to be the Berton House writer-in-residence in Dawson City, Yukon. She has served in the role of writer-in-residence at numerous public libraries and with various organizations. Ruth is a member of the Writer's Union of Canada, and served on the author's advisory committee of the Writers' Trust of Canada for many years.

Works

Fiction

*''Semi-Detached'' (2023) *''Ten Good Seconds of Silence'' (2001) *''Smoke'' (2005) *''Matadora'' (2013) *''Love You to Death'' (2013) - a novella in plain language for literacy learners

Anthologies

*''Bent on Writing: Contemporary Queer Tales'' (2002, ed.)

References

External links

Elizabeth Ruth
1968 births Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian women novelists Living people Canadian lesbian writers Writers from Windsor, Ontario University of Toronto alumni Canadian LGBTQ novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers Lesbian novelists 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Novelists from Ontario {{Canada-writer-stub