Sheridan welcomes Naben Ruthnum as its next Writer-in-Residence

The faculty, staff, and students of Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing degree program (CW&P) are excited to welcome Naben Ruthnum as the 2022-2023 CW&P Writer-in-Residence. 

Ruthnum is the author of the novel A Hero of Our Time (Penguin Random House, 2022), the horror novella Helpmeet (Undertow, 2022), and the essay Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race (Coach House, 2017).  

He won the 2013 Journey Prize for Cinema Rex — a short story published in The Malahat Review. Under the pen name Nathan Ripley, he's also the author of two thrillers: Your Life Is Mine (Simon & Schuster, 2019) and Find You in the Dark (Simon & Schuster, 2018). Ruthnum also writes for television and film.  

“Naben’s range of work speaks to a remarkably wide curiosity and passion for storytelling in so many different, modern forms. Whether working in popular or literary genres, TV or film, his writing is thoughtful, deeply felt, and contemporary,” says Genevieve Amaral, Associate Dean, School of Humanities and Creativity. “We’re delighted that he’ll be contributing to the Sheridan community next year.”  

The CW&P Writer-in-Residence Program supports an annual non-teaching, community- and culture-building fixed-term position designed to complement existing CW&P programming and curriculum.  

Ruthnum will spend his time at Sheridan developing personal writing projects, visiting and contributing to writing and publishing classes, leading public workshops, and providing creative leadership, mentoring and public outreach to and on behalf of the program and school.  

“I’m extremely excited to be joining Sheridan as writer-in-residence for the upcoming academic year,” says Ruthnum. “Writing across genres and forms, from thrillers to literary novels to screenplays, has defined my career. I’m looking forward to connecting with students with practical advice on all the different elements of what makes a life in writing work.”