Ryan Ridge

Poet, Fiction Writer

Ogden, UT
Utah US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Ryan Ridge is the author of four chapbooks and five books, including most recently the story collection New Bad News (Sarabande Books, 2020).

He has received the Italo Calvino Prize in Fabulist Fiction, the Linda Bruckheimer Prize in Kentucky Literature, and the Kentucky Writers Fellowship for Innovative Writing from the Baltic Writing Residency. His work has been featured in American Book ReviewDenver Quarterly, Moon CityPassages North, Post Road, Salt Hill, Santa Monica Review, and Southwest Review, among other venues.

A graduate of the University of Louisville and the MFA Programs in Writing at UC Irvine, he is an assistant professor at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, where he co-directs the Creative Writing Program. In addition to his work as a writer and teacher, he edits the literary magazine Juked. He lives in Salt Lake City with the writer Ashley Farmer and plays bass in the Snarlin' Yarns. 

Writers Retreats: 

Publications & Prizes

Fiction

Books:
New Bad News (Sarabande Books, 2020)
,
Second Acts in American Lives (Alternating Current Press, 2018)
,
Weird Weeks (Cupboard, 2018)
,
American Homes (The University of Michigan Press, 2016)
,
Hunters & Gamblers (Dark Sky Books, 2011)

Poetry

Books:
OX: The Year of the Metal Ox Edition (Alternating Current Press, 2021)
,
Ox (BatCat Press, 2011)
Prizes won: 

Linda Bruckheimer Award in Kentucky Literature (2018), Kentucky Writers Fellowship for Innovative Writing from the Baltic Writing Residency (2018), Italo Calvino Prize in Fabulist Fiction (2016)

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
James Baldwin, Donald Barthelme, David Berman, Wendell Berry, Michael Bible, Roberto Bolaño, William S. Burroughs, Blake Butler, Italo Calvino, Raymond Chandler, Lydia Davis, Joan Didion, Brian Evenson, Barry Hannah, Brandon Hobson, John Keene, Etgar Keret, Michelle Latiolais, Jonathan Lethem, Gordon Lish, David Markson, Claudia Rankine, Jim Ruland, Amber Sparks, James Tate, Hunter S. Thompson, and Diane Williams

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Born in: 
Louisville, KY
Kentucky
Raised in: 
Louisville, KY
Kentucky
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Sep 16, 2023