Ruel Johnson

Ruel Johnson is a former President's College (Golden Grove, Demerara/Mahaica, Guyana, South America) student who hails from Tucville Terrace, Greater Georgetown. He is the eldest of 5. He won the 2002 [Guyana Prize for Literature 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 has one child, Aidan.

Guyana Prizes for Literature

The Guyana Prizes for Literature were founded by President Desmond Hoyte in 1987, with a view to promoting the development of local literature. Prizes are awarded biennially in categories including best book of fiction, best first book of fiction, best book of poems, best first book of poems, and best play. The Guyana Prizes are managed by a Committee consisting of a number of University of Guyana personnel, and the Chief Librarian of the Guyana National Library, Georgetown. Other winners have included Wilson Harris, Fred D'Aguiar, David Dabydeen, D. Gokarran Sukhdeo, Pauline Melville, Ian McDonald and Raywat Deonandan.