Elizabeth Ruth is a Toronto writer, editor, creative writing instructor and mother. Her first novel, Ten Good Seconds of Silence, was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and the City of Toronto Book Award; her second novel, Smoke, was chosen for the 2007 One Book One Community program. Ruth has taught at the University of Toronto and through the Humber School for Writers, and has mentored students through Writers in Electronic Residence (WIER).

Ruth will be living in Berton House from July to September 2019. While in Dawson City she will be working on her first collection of poetry, This Report Is Strictly Confidential, inspired by the experience and records of a developmentally delayed family member who was institutionalized long-term in a notorious residential hospital.