Ruel Johnson is a Guyanese author.
Johnson won the 2002
Guyana Prize for Literature
Guyanese literature covers works including novels, poetry, plays and others written by people born or strongly-affiliated with Guyana. Formerly British Guiana, British language and style has an enduring impact on the writings from Guyana, which ar ...
for best first fiction manuscript for a collection of short stories entitled ''Ariadne and Other Stories'', which he self-published the following year with assistance from COURTS and GuyEnterprise. Johnson, then 22, was the youngest person ever to win the prize.
He also won the 2012 Guyana Prize for Literature for submitting the best book of fiction.
In 2016 he participated in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
, in
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
, IA, and was the first Guyanese to participate in the programme. He is the Cultural Policy Advisor through the Ministry of Education, and since 2014 has been working to establish a national cultural policy.
A former President's College (Golden Grove,
Demerara-Mahaica
Demerara-Mahaica (Region 4) is a region of Guyana, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the region of Mahaica-Berbice to the east, the region of Upper Demerara-Berbice to the south and the region of Essequibo Islands-West Demerara to the we ...
,
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
) student who hails from Tucville Terrace, Greater Georgetown, Johnson is the eldest of five and has one child.
Ruel Johnson was recently accused of physical abuse by an ex-girlfriend by the name of Akola Thompson. She alleged that he manipulated her and took advantage of her during times of vulnerability by being physical, emotionally and sexually abusive to her.
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Nicholas Laughlin
Nicholas Laughlin (born 6 May 1975)"In brief" Nicholas Laughlin's website. is a writer and editor from