Ridgway's first published fictional prose work was Horses, which appeared in Faber First Fictions Volume 13 in 1997. In 1998 The Long Falling, was published by Faber & Faber, London. A collection of short fiction, Standard Time, followed in 2000, also from Faber & Faber.

In 2003 The Parts was published by Faber & Faber.

In 2006, Animals was published by 4th Estate, London.

Ridgway's work has been translated into several languages and has been published in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and the United States.

The Long Falling, under its French title of Mauvaise Pente, was awarded both the Prix Femina Etranger and the Prix Premier Roman in Paris in 2001. Ridgway was awarded The Rooney Prize For Irish Literature in 2001.