Irving Ruan is a writer living in Los Angeles

Born in Sichuan, China and raised in Montana and Southern California, Irving Ruan is a contributing writer for The New Yorker magazine and the Narrative Design Lead for an upcoming role-playing video game.

He’s developed TV projects with Warner Brothers and Disney, and was a writer on the hit half-hour comedy series TWISTED METAL (Sony/Peacock) starring Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, and Will Arnett. Recently, he wrote for THE AUDACITY (AMC), an hour-long comedic drama set in the world of Silicon Valley and starring Billy Magnussen, Sarah Goldberg, and Zach Galifianakis. Irving’s experience also includes writing commercials and he is currently developing a half-hour animated series with EP/Showrunner Sanjay Shah (PIXAR’S DREAM PRODUCTIONS, EVERYBODY STILL HATES CHRIS) under his overall deal at CBS Studios.

Named by Paste Magazine as one of the best humorists writing today, Irving’s writing has been published in McSweeney's Quarterly, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Funny Or Die, CollegeHumor, and elsewhere. He is a former member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto and his work has been included in The New Yorker’s best Shouts & Murmurs of 2019, 2020, and 2021. A selection of Irving’s writing has been anthologized in McSweeney’s 21st anniversary essay collection, Keep Scrolling Till You Feel Something, as well as McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern Issue No. 53, which won the 2019 National Magazine Award in Fiction.

Irving is an alum of the improv, sketch, and satire program at The Second City in Chicago. In 2022, he was named by The Tracking Board’s annual Next List as one of thirty emerging TV/film writers to watch. From 2021 to 2023, he was a recipient of the Warner Brothers Discovery (formerly HBO) Access Writing Fellowship. In 2025, he was chosen by Dan Lin’s Rideback, a content accelerator for mid-level TV/film writers, to participate in its Rise Circle cohort. He is a 2025 graduate of the Writers Guild of America’s inaugural Mid-Level TV Writers Program.

In his past life, Irving spent a decade in Silicon Valley building software and consulting for places like Blue Origin, Apple, and the U.S. Department of Energy after graduating from UCSD with a B.S. in Computer Science. His work in technology has spanned across various fields, including marine life conservation, music streaming, and particle accelerators.

Irving is a member of the Writers Guild of America and is represented by 3 Arts and CAA.