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Planet Earth
stories House of Anansi November 4, 2025 A collection of international-award-winning stories: love in the time of planetary decline In Planet Earth, Nicholas Ruddock moves nimbly through a range of styles—from conventional to flash-fiction to his unique mastery of the long sentence—in stories exploring themes of love and passion, all with an awareness of our species-specific carelessness burning up the world. This collection showcases a gifted writer at the top of his game, each story fresh and unexpected: the time Mario Vargas Llosa sucker-punched Gabriel García Márquez at a theatre in Mexico City inspires a young Marxist couple’s violent act of revenge in Toronto years later; an anxious young man finds solace in the employ of Prince, the musician; a haunting glimpse of Toronto’s polio epidemic at its peak in 1953; a young Canadian student bears witness to the Algerian protests and police violence in 1961 Paris; a pair of naïve young women find themselves involved with a mysterious circus troupe in Nice. These provocative but contemplative stories are paradoxically positive and quick-witted, with a humorous fondness for humans and all our failings. |
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Last Hummingbird West of Chile
a novel Breakwater 2021 Audiobook forthcoming, read by Gerard Doyle, summer 2025 Finalist Historical Fiction Next Generation Indie Awards 2021 Bronze Medal Independent Publishers Award 2021 Best Novels 2021 Telegram St John's Best Novels 2021 Miramichi Reader An audacious tale of murder, privilege, and servitude—of both humans and nature. A stunning work of imaginative fiction, Last Hummingbird West of Chile spins a tale of adventure that is in turn comedic, violent, poignant and thoughtful. Through the exploits of a young sailor born in questionable circumstance and a pair of murderous servants, as well as an assortment of other 19th century regulars, the vital subjects of today—race, religion, sexuality, environment—are framed in history and human culture. Through narration by human protagonists, a tree, a hummingbird, various beasts, and the landscape itself, Ruddock tells a story of colonialism and environment, brutality and privilege, and the best and worst of human nature. “Boldly conceived, richly imagined, wondrously multi-vocal and unexpectedly comic…the perfect historical novel for a world just waking up to the realization that every living and non-living thing is vitally connected.” —Padma Visvanathan, author of The Toss of a Lemon |
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Night Ambulance
a novel Breakwater 2016 Finalist Next-Generation Indie Awards Patient and luminous, Night Ambulance is the story of a place on the cusp of change, where characters stand between coercive societal expectations and the right to decide their own fates. Sixteen-year-old Rowena Savoury travels to St. John’s for a secret abortion. But in the early 1970s, the procedure is illegal, and after complications, Rowena finds herself in a hospital being questioned by a young constable uncertain of how to proceed. Though she doesn’t know it, Rowena’s decision will ripple through the lives of an entire cast of characters. “Ruddock has a refined ear for dialogue and a mischievous sense of humour. He also knows how to bring a story to a memorable conclusion.”
—David Bezmozgis, The Journey Prize Anthology |
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How Loveta Got Her Baby
Twenty-five short stories Breakwater 2014 A set of linked stories about growing up unsure of the world and trying to stand up straight, about love from afar and up close, love imagined, love going right and wrong and sideways, about being young and imperfect. These stories are by turns funny, tender, sexy, painful, passionate, heartbreaking, and joyous: Ruddock writes with deft insight into who we are, and how we change. “Nobody can mistake the ingenuity of Nicholas Ruddock, whose story, ‘The Steamer’, is a terrific read. Ruddock has talent to burn; he writes with verve and style.”
—Madeleine Thien, Prism International “Accomplished, original, witty and wise, ‘The Housepainters’ is a wonderful piece of writing.” —Helen Humphreys, The Antigonish Review |
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The Parabolist
Doubleday 2010 Shortlist Toronto Book Award and Arthur Ellis Crime Novel Award A "searingly smart and funny" novel about murder, sex, the medical establishment, poetry and vigilante justice on the streets of Toronto in 1975. Told through interlacing narratives, the story funnels towards the eye of an unsolved crime: on a rainy summer night, a woman is raped and very nearly murdered, but for the intervention of two drunken vigilantes who kill her attacker before fleeing the scene. The only clue the police have about their identities: a slab of Crisco shortening found on the victim. "Packed with smarts, wit, and the spirit of Bolaño, The Parabolist envisions Toronto as an antic place full of characters willing to go to the brink for good sex, good love or a good poem."
—Kyo Maclear, author of The Letter Opener "Passionate, off-hand, deeply charming and deeply original.” —Damian Tarnopolsky, author of Goya’s Dog "The narrative is infused with the kind of intellectual energy and playfulness that is woefully lacking in so much Canadian fiction." --Quill & Quire "The Parabolist is an inventive, poetic, and thoroughly wonderful book." —Vincent Lam, author of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures “With dazzling skill, Ruddock blends his intricate knowledge of medicine into an exciting, compelling, and expertly layered mystery." —Anthony De Sa, author of Barnacle Love |