  We study the \eta' N interaction within a chiral unitary approach which
includes \pi N, \eta N and related pseudoscalar meson-baryon coupled channels.
Since the SU(3) singlet does not contribute to the standard interaction and the
\eta' is mostly a singlet, the resulting scattering amplitude is very small and
inconsistent with experimental estimations of the \eta' N scattering length.
The additional consideration of vector meson-baryon states into the coupled
channel scheme, via normal and anomalous couplings of pseudoscalar to vector
mesons, enhances substantially the \eta' N amplitude. We also exploit the
freedom of adding to the Lagrangian a new term, allowed by the symmetries of
QCD, which couples baryons to the singlet meson of SU(3). Adjusting the unknown
strength to the \eta' N scattering length, we obtain predictions for the
elastic \eta' N --> \eta' N and inelastic \eta' N --> \eta N, \pi N, K\Lambda,
K\Sigma\ cross sections at low \eta' energies, and discuss their significance.
