Margaret Atwood
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Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet,
literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...
, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of
nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...
, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, two
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
s, and a number of
small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. However, when a distinction ...
editions of both poetry and fiction. Her best-known work is the 1985 dystopian novel ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
.'' Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
s, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
, the
Franz Kafka Prize The Franz Kafka Prize is an international literary award presented in honour of Franz Kafka, the Jewish, Bohemian, German-language novelist. The prize was first awarded in 2001 and is co-sponsored by the Franz Kafka Society and the city of Prag ...
,
Princess of Asturias Awards The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...
, and the National Book Critics and
PEN Center USA PEN Center USA was a branch of PEN International, a literary and human rights organization. It was one of two PEN International Centers in the United States, the other being PEN America in New York City. On March 1, 2018, PEN Center USA unified ...
Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television. Atwood's works encompass a variety of themes including gender and identity,
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
and myth, the power of language, climate change, and "power politics". Many of her poems are inspired by
myths Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
and
fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...
which interested her from a very early age. Oates, Joyce Carol. "Margaret Atwood: Poet", ''The New York Times'', May 21, 1978. Atwood is a founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the
Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada () is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young (Canadian playwright), David Young; the W ...
. She is also a Senior Fellow of
Massey College, Toronto Massey College is the postgraduate University of Toronto#Colleges, college of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The college was established, built and ...
. She is the inventor of the LongPen device and associated technologies that facilitate remote robotic writing of documents.


Early life and education

Atwood was born on November 18, 1939, in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada, the second of three children of Carl Edmund Atwood, an
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
, and Margaret Dorothy (née Killam), a former dietitian and nutritionist from Woodville, Nova Scotia. Because of her father's research in forest
entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
, Atwood spent much of her childhood in the backwoods of northern
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, and travelling back and forth between Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie and
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. She did not attend school full-time until she was 12 years old. She became a voracious reader of literature,
Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...
pocketbook mysteries, ''
Grimms' Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (, , commonly abbreviated as ''KHM''), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm, first publish ...
'', Canadian animal stories, and
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s. She attended Leaside High School in
Leaside Leaside (/'liːˌsaɪd/) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northeast of Downtown Toronto, in the vicinity of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. It is one of the most expensive and exclusive neighbourhoo ...
, Toronto, and graduated in 1957. Atwood began writing plays and poems at the age of 6. As a child, she also participated in the Brownie program of
Girl Guides of Canada Girl Guides of Canada (GGC; ) is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1928. Histo ...
. Atwood has written about her experiences in Girl Guides in several of her publications. Atwood realized she wanted to write professionally when she was 16. In 1957, she began studying at Victoria College in the University of Toronto, where she published poems and articles in '' Acta Victoriana'', the college literary journal, and participated in the sophomore theatrical tradition of ''The Bob Comedy Revue''. Her professors included Jay Macpherson and
Northrop Frye Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Frye gained international fame with his first book, ''Fearful Symmetr ...
. She graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts in English (honours) and minors in philosophy and French. In 1961, Atwood began graduate studies at
Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...
of
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, with a
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
fellowship. She obtained a master's degree (MA) from Radcliffe in 1962 and pursued doctoral studies for two years, but did not finish her dissertation, ''The English Metaphysical Romance''.


Personal life

Atwood has a sister, Ruth Atwood, born in 1951, and a brother who is two years older, Harold Leslie Atwood. She has claimed that, according to her grandmother (maiden name Webster), the 17th-century witchcraft-lynching survivor Mary Webster might have been an
ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...
: "On Monday, my grandmother would say Mary was her ancestor, and on Wednesday she would say she wasn't ... So take your pick." Webster is the subject of Atwood's
poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
"Half-Hanged Mary", as well as the subject of Atwood's dedication in her novel ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' (1985). At the beginning ''The Handmaid's Tale'' was named after its main character, "Offred". Atwood married Jim Polk, an American writer, in 1968, but they divorced in 1973. She formed a relationship with fellow novelist
Graeme Gibson Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson (9 August 1934 – 18 September 2019) was a Canadian novelist.Alliston, Ontario Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County, Ontario, Simcoe County in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It has been part of the Town of New Tecumseth, Ontario, New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of All ...
, where their daughter, Eleanor Jess Atwood Gibson, was born in 1976. The family returned to Toronto in 1980. Atwood and Gibson were together until September 18, 2019, when Gibson died after suffering from
dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
. She wrote about Gibson in the poem ''Dearly'' and in an accompanying essay on grief and poetry published in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in 2020. Atwood said about Gibson "He wasn't an egotist, so he wasn't threatened by anything I was doing. He said to our daughter towards the end of his life, 'Your mum would still have been a writer if she hadn't met me, but she wouldn't have had as much fun'". Although she is an accomplished writer, Atwood says that she is "a terrible speller" who writes both on a computer and by hand. Atwood maintains a summer home on Pelee Island in
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
.


Career


1960s

Atwood's first book of poetry, '' Double Persephone'', was published as a pamphlet by John Robert Colombo's Hawkshead Press in 1961, and won the E. J. Pratt Medal. While continuing to write, Atwood was a lecturer in English at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
, Vancouver, from 1964 to 1965, Instructor in English at the Sir George Williams University in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
from 1967 to 1968, and taught at the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
from 1969 to 1970. In 1966, '' The Circle Game'' was published, winning the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
. From 1936; new awards added to list annually. This collection was followed by three other small press collections of poetry: ''Kaleidoscopes Baroque: a poem'', Cranbrook Academy of Art (1965); ''Talismans for Children'', Cranbrook Academy of Art (1965); and '' Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein'', Cranbrook Academy of Art (1966); as well as '' The Animals in That Country'' (1968). Atwood's first novel, '' The Edible Woman'', was published in 1969. As a social satire of North American consumerism, many critics have often cited the novel as an early example of the feminist concerns found in many of Atwood's works.


1970s

Atwood taught at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
in Toronto from 1971 to 1972 and was a writer in residence at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
during the 1972/1973 academic year. Atwood published six collections of poetry over the course of the decade: '' The Journals of Susanna Moodie'' (1970), '' Procedures for Underground'' (1970), ''
Power Politics Power politics is a term which denotes an approach to political matters which aims to enhance the power of government actors. The term has much usage in the realm of international relations, and it is often used pejoratively. The German term fo ...
'' (1971), ''You Are Happy'' (1974), ''Selected Poems 1965–1975'' (1976), and '' Two-Headed Poems'' (1978). Atwood also published three novels during this time: '' Surfacing'' (1972); '' Lady Oracle'' (1976); and '' Life Before Man'' (1979), which was a finalist for the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
. ''Surfacing'', ''Lady Oracle'', and ''Life Before Man'', like ''The Edible Woman'', explore identity and social constructions of gender as they relate to topics such as nationhood and sexual politics. In particular, ''Surfacing'', along with her first non-fiction monograph, '' Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature'' (1972), helped establish Atwood as an important and emerging voice in Canadian literature. In 1977 Atwood published her first short story collection, '' Dancing Girls'', which was the winner of the St. Lawrence Award for Fiction and the award of The Periodical Distributors of Canada for Short Fiction. By 1976, there was such interest in Atwood, her works, and her life that ''
Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...
'' declared her to be "Canada's most gossiped-about writer."


1980s

Atwood's literary reputation continued to rise in the 1980s with the publication of '' Bodily Harm'' (1981); ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' (1985), winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and 1985 Governor General's Award and finalist for the 1986
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
; and '' Cat's Eye'' (1988), finalist for both the 1988 Governor General's Award and the 1989
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
. Despite her distaste for literary labels, Atwood has since conceded to referring to ''The Handmaid's Tale'' as a work of
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
or, more precisely,
speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
. As she has repeatedly noted, "There's a precedent in real life for everything in the book. I decided not to put anything in that somebody somewhere hadn't already done." While reviewers and critics have been tempted to read autobiographical elements of Atwood's life in her work, particularly ''Cat's Eye'', in general Atwood resists the desire of critics to read too closely for an author's life in their writing. Filmmaker Michael Rubbo's '' Margaret Atwood: Once in August'' (1984) details the filmmaker's frustration in uncovering autobiographical evidence and inspiration in Atwood's works. During the 1980s, Atwood continued to teach, serving as the MFA Honorary Chair at the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
in Tuscaloosa, 1985; the Berg Professor of English,
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, 1986; Writer-in-Residence,
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...
, Australia, 1987; and Writer-in-Residence, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, 1989. Regarding her stints with teaching, she has noted, "Success for me meant no longer having to teach at university."


1990s

Atwood's reputation as a writer continued to grow with the publication of the novels '' The Robber Bride'' (1993), finalist for the 1994 Governor General's Award and shortlisted for the
James Tiptree Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...
, and '' Alias Grace'' (1996), winner of the 1996
Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...
, finalist for the 1996
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
, finalist for the 1996 Governor General's Award, and shortlisted for the 1997
Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
. Although vastly different in context and form, both novels use female characters to question good and evil and morality through their portrayal of female villains. As Atwood noted about ''The Robber Bride'', "I'm not making a case for evil behavior, but unless you have some women characters portrayed as evil characters, you're not playing with a full range." ''The Robber Bride'' takes place in contemporary Toronto, while ''Alias Grace'' is a work of historical fiction detailing the 1843 murders of Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery. Atwood had previously written the 1974
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
made-for-TV film ''The Servant Girl'', about the life of Grace Marks, the young servant who, along with James McDermott, was convicted of the crime. Atwood continued her poetry contributions by publishing ''Snake Woman'' in 1999 for the Women's Literature journal Kalliope.


2000s


Novels

In 2000, Atwood published her tenth novel, '' The Blind Assassin'', to critical acclaim, winning both the
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
and the Hammett Prize in 2000. ''The Blind Assassin'' was also nominated for the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
in 2000,
Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
, and the
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
in 2002. In 2001, Atwood was inducted into
Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...
. Atwood followed this success with the publication of '' Oryx and Crake'' in 2003, the first novel in a series that also includes ''
The Year of the Flood ''The Year of the Flood'' is a novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, the second book of her dystopian trilogy, released on September 22, 2009, in Canada and the United States, and on September 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom. The novel was ...
'' (2009) and '' MaddAddam'' (2013), which would collectively come to be known as the MaddAddam Trilogy. The apocalyptic vision in the MaddAddam Trilogy engages themes of genetic modification, pharmaceutical and corporate control, and man-made disaster. As a work of speculative fiction, Atwood notes of the technology in ''Oryx and Crake'', "I think, for the first time in human history, we see where we might go. We can see far enough into the future to know that we can't go on the way we've been going forever without inventing, possibly, a lot of new and different things." She later cautions in the acknowledgements to ''MaddAddam'', "Although ''MaddAddam'' is a work of fiction, it does not include any technologies or bio-beings that do not already exist, are not under construction or are not possible in theory." In 2005, Atwood published the novella '' The Penelopiad'' as part of the Canongate Myth Series. The story is a retelling of ''
The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'' from the perspective of
Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...
and a chorus of the twelve maids murdered at the end of the original tale. ''The Penelopiad'' was given a theatrical production in 2007. In 2016, Atwood published the novel '' Hag-Seed'', a modern-day retelling of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''
The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
'', as part of
Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...
's Hogarth Shakespeare Series. On November 28, 2018, Atwood announced that she would publish '' The Testaments'', a sequel to ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'', in September 2019. The novel features three female narrators and takes place fifteen years after the character Offred's final scene in ''The Handmaid's Tale''. The book was the joint winner of the 2019 Booker Prize.


Nonfiction

In 2008, Atwood published '' Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth'', a collection of five lectures delivered as part of the
Massey Lectures The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers, and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, a forme ...
from October 12 to November 1, 2008. The book was released in anticipation of the lectures, which were also recorded and broadcast on
CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...
's '' Ideas''.


Chamber opera

In March 2008, Atwood accepted a
chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a Chamber music, chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas ...
commission. Commissioned by City Opera of Vancouver, '' Pauline'' is set in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
in March 1913 during the final days of the life of Canadian writer and performer Pauline Johnson. ''Pauline'', composed by Tobin Stokes with
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by Atwood, premiered on May 23, 2014, at Vancouver's York Theatre.
CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...
(May 23, 2014)
"Margaret Atwood's opera debut ''Pauline'' opens in Vancouver"
. Retrieved July 1, 2014.


Graphic fiction

In 2016, Atwood began writing the superhero comic book series ''Angel Catbird'', with co-creator and illustrator Johnnie Christmas. The series protagonist, scientist Strig Feleedus, is victim of an accidental mutation that leaves him with the body parts and powers of both a cat and a bird. As with her other works, Atwood notes of the series, "The kind of speculative fiction about the future that I write is always based on things that are in process right now. So it's not that I imagine them, it's that I notice that people are working on them and I take it a few steps further down the road. So it doesn't come out of nowhere, it comes out of real life."


Future Library project

With her novel ''Scribbler Moon'', Atwood is the first contributor to the Future Library project. The work, completed in 2015, was ceremonially handed over to the project on May 27 of the same year. The book will be held by the project until its eventual publishing in 2114. She thinks that readers will probably need a paleo-anthropologist to translate some parts of her story. In an interview with the ''Guardian'' newspaper, Atwood said, "There's something magical about it. It's like ''
Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...
''. The texts are going to slumber for 100 years and then they'll wake up, come to life again. It's a fairytale length of time. She slept for 100 years."


Invention of the LongPen

In early 2004, while on the paperback tour in Denver for her novel ''Oryx and Crake'', Atwood conceived the concept of a remote robotic writing technology, what would later be known as the LongPen, that would enable a person to remotely write in ink anywhere in the world via tablet PC and the Internet, thus allowing her to conduct her book tours without being physically present. She quickly founded a company, Unotchit Inc., to develop, produce and distribute this technology. By 2011, the company shifted its market focus into business and legal transactions and was producing a range of products, for a variety of remote writing applications, based on the LongPen technologies. In 2013, the company renamed itself to Syngrafii Inc. In 2021, it is cloud-based and offers
electronic signature An electronic signature, or e-signature, is data that is logically associated with other data and which is used by the signatory to sign the associated data. This type of signature has the same legal standing as a handwritten signature as long as ...
technology. As of May 2021, Atwood is still a director of Syngrafii Inc. and holder of various patents related to the LongPen and related technology.


Poetry

In November 2020 Atwood published ''Dearly,'' a collection of poems exploring absences and endings, ageing and retrospection, and gifts and renewals. The central poem, ''Dearly'', was also published in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper along with an essay exploring the passing of time, grief, and how a poem belongs to the reader; this is accompanied by an audio recording of Atwood reading the poem on the newspaper's website.


Recurring themes and cultural contexts


Theory of Canadian identity

Atwood's contributions to the theorizing of Canadian identity have garnered attention both in Canada and internationally. Her principal work of literary criticism, '' Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature'', is considered somewhat outdated, but remains a standard introduction to
Canadian literature Canadian literature is written in several languages including Canadian English, English, Canadian French, French, and various Indigenous Canadian languages. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in th ...
in Canadian studies programs internationally. Writer and academic Joseph Pivato has criticised the continued reprinting of ''Survival'' by Anansi Press as a view-narrowing disservice to students of Canadian literature. In ''Survival'', Atwood postulates that Canadian literature, and by extension Canadian identity, is characterized by the symbol of survival. This symbol is expressed in the omnipresent use of "victim positions" in Canadian literature. These positions represent a scale of self-consciousness and self-actualization for the victim in the "victor/victim" relationship.Atwood, M. (1972), 36–42. The "victor" in these scenarios may be other humans, nature, the wilderness or other external and internal factors which oppress the victim. Atwood's ''Survival'' bears the influence of
Northrop Frye Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Frye gained international fame with his first book, ''Fearful Symmetr ...
's theory of garrison mentality; Atwood uses Frye's concept of Canada's desire to wall itself off from outside influence as a critical tool to analyze Canadian literature. According to her theories in works such as ''Survival'' and her exploration of similar themes in her fiction, Atwood considers Canadian literature as the expression of Canadian identity. According to this literature, Canadian identity has been defined by a fear of nature, by settler history, and by unquestioned adherence to the community. In an interview with the Scottish critic Bill Findlay in 1979, Atwood discussed the relationship of Canadian writers and writing to the 'Imperial Cultures' of America and Britain. Atwood's contribution to the theorizing of Canada is not limited to her non-fiction works. Several of her works, including '' The Journals of Susanna Moodie'', '' Alias Grace'', '' The Blind Assassin'' and '' Surfacing'', are examples of what postmodern literary theorist
Linda Hutcheon Linda Hutcheon, FRSC, OC (born August 24, 1947) is a Canadian academic working in the fields of literary theory and criticism, opera, and Canadian studies. She is a University Professor Emeritus in the Department of English and of the Centre f ...
calls " historiographic metafiction". In such works, Atwood explicitly explores the relation of history and narrative and the processes of creating history. Among her contributions to Canadian literature, Atwood is a founding trustee of the Griffin Poetry Prize, as well as a founder of the
Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada () is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young (Canadian playwright), David Young; the W ...
, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community.


Feminism

Atwood's work has been of interest to feminist literary critics, despite Atwood's unwillingness at times to apply the label '
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
' to her works. Starting with the publication of her first novel, '' The Edible Woman'', Atwood asserted, "I don't consider it feminism; I just consider it social realism." Despite her rejection of the label at times, critics have analyzed the sexual politics, use of myth and fairytale, and gendered relationships in Atwood's work through the lens of feminism. Before the 1985 publication of ''The Handmaid's Tale'', Atwood gave an interview to feminist theorist Elizabeth Meese in which she defined feminism as a "belief in the rights of women" and averred that "if practical, hardline, anti-male feminists took over and became the government, I would resist them." In 2017, she clarified her discomfort with the label ''feminism'' by stating, "I always want to know what people mean by that word eminism Some people mean it quite negatively, other people mean it very positively, some people mean it in a broad sense, other people mean it in a more specific sense. Therefore, in order to answer the question, you have to ask the person what they mean." Speaking to ''The Guardian'', she said "For instance, some feminists have historically been against lipstick and letting transgender women into women's washrooms. Those are not positions I have agreed with", a position she repeated to ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
''.Kirk, Phoebe
"Why I Won't Call You A TERF"
, ''
HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' (UK), May 18, 2018.
In an interview with Penguin Books, Atwood stated that the driving question throughout her writing of ''The Handmaid's Tale'' was "If you were going to shove women back into the home and deprive them of all of these gains that they thought they had made, how would you do it?", but related this question to
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
, not feminism. In January 2018, Atwood penned the
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
"Am I a Bad Feminist?" for ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
''. The piece was in response to social media backlash related to Atwood's signature on a 2016 petition calling for an independent investigation into the firing of Steven Galloway, a former University of British Columbia professor accused of sexual harassment and assault by a student. While feminist critics denounced Atwood for her support of Galloway, Atwood asserted that her signature was in support of due process in the legal system. She has been criticized for her comments surrounding the #
MeToo movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...
, particularly that it is a "symptom of a broken legal system". In 2018, following a partnership between
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
's adaptation of ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' and women's rights organisation
Equality Now Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Th ...
, Atwood was honored at their 2018 Make Equality Reality Gala. In her acceptance speech she said:
I am, of course, not a real activist—I'm simply a writer without a job who is frequently asked to speak about subjects that would get people with jobs fired if they themselves spoke. You, however, at Equality Now are real activists. I hope people will give Equality Now lots and lots of money, today, so they can write equal laws, enact equal laws and see that equal laws are implemented. That way, in time, all girls may be able to grow up believing that there are no avenues that are closed to them simply because they are girls.
In 2019, Atwood partnered with Equality Now for the release of '' The Testaments''.


Speculative and science fiction

Atwood has resisted the suggestion that ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' and '' Oryx and Crake'' are science fiction, suggesting to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in 2003 that they are
speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
: "Science fiction has monsters and spaceships; speculative fiction could really happen." She told the Book of the Month Club: "''Oryx and Crake'' is a speculative fiction, not a science fiction proper. It contains no intergalactic space travel, no teleportation, no
Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celes ...
s." Langford, David
"Bits and Pieces"
''SFX'' magazine No. 107, August 2003.
On ''
BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One every morning from 6:00am. It is also broadcast on the UK feed of BBC News channel on weekends. The simulcast is presented live, ...
'', she explained that science fiction, as opposed to what she herself wrote, was "talking squids in outer space." The latter phrase particularly rankled advocates of science fiction and frequently recurs when her writing is discussed. In 2005, Atwood said that she did at times write social science fiction and that ''The Handmaid's Tale'' and ''Oryx and Crake'' could be designated as such. She clarified her meaning on the difference between speculative and science fiction, admitting that others used the terms interchangeably: "For me, the science fiction label belongs on books with things in them that we can't yet do ... Speculative fiction means a work that employs the means already to hand and that takes place on Planet Earth." She said that science fiction narratives give a writer the ability to explore themes in ways that realistic fiction cannot. Atwood further clarified her definitions of terms in 2011, in a discussion with science fiction author
Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...
: "What Le Guin means by 'science fiction' is what I mean by 'speculative fiction', and what she means by 'fantasy' would include what I mean by 'science fiction'." She added that genre borders were increasingly fluid, and that all forms of "SF" might be placed under a common umbrella.


Reception

In 2024 the Republican-dominated Utah Legislature passed a law mandating the removal of books deemed objectionable from all Utah public schools. On August 2, 2024, the Utah State School Board released its first list of objectionable books. One book on this list was penned by Atwood (''Oryx and Crake'').


Animal rights

Atwood repeatedly makes observations about the relationships of humans to animals in her works. A large portion of the
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
Atwood creates in '' Oryx and Crake'' concerns the genetic modification and alteration of animals and humans, resulting in hybrids such as pigoons, rakunks, wolvogs and Crakers, raising questions on the limits and ethics of science and technology, and on what it means to be human. In '' Surfacing'', one character remarks about eating animals: "The animals die that we may live, they are substitute people ... And we eat them, out of cans or otherwise; we are eaters of death, dead Christ-flesh resurrecting inside us, granting us life." Some characters in her books link sexual oppression to meat-eating and consequently give up meat-eating. In '' The Edible Woman'', Atwood's character Marian identifies with hunted animals and cries after hearing her fiancé's experience of hunting and eviscerating a rabbit. Marian stops eating meat but then later returns to it.Carol J. Adams. 2006. ''The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory''. The Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 141–142, 152, 195, 197. In '' Cat's Eye'', the narrator recognizes the similarity between a turkey and a baby. She looks at "the turkey, which resembles a trussed, headless baby. It has thrown off its disguise as a meal and has revealed itself to me for what it is, a large dead bird." In Atwood's ''Surfacing'', a dead
heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...
represents purposeless killing and prompts thoughts about other senseless deaths. Atwood is a pescetarian. In a 2009 interview she stated that "I shouldn't use the term vegetarian because I'm allowing myself
gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
s,
crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
s and the occasional fish. Nothing with fur or feathers though".


Political involvement

Atwood has indicated in an interview that she considers herself a
Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a Centre-right politics, centre-right or Paternalistic conservatism, paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition. It is most predominant in Canada; however, it is also found in the ...
in what she sees as the historical sense of the term, saying that "The Tories were the ones who believed that those in power had a responsibility to the community, that money should not be the measure of all things." She has also stated on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that she is a
monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
. In the 2008 federal election, she attended a rally for the
Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...
, a
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
pro-independence party, because of her support for their position on the arts; she said she would vote for the party if she lived in Quebec, and that the choice was between the Bloc and the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
. In an editorial in ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', she urged Canadians to vote for any party other than the Conservatives to prevent them gaining a majority. Atwood has strong views on environmental issues, and she and
Graeme Gibson Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson (9 August 1934 – 18 September 2019) was a Canadian novelist.BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
. Atwood celebrated her 70th birthday at a gala dinner at
Laurentian University Laurentian University (), officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergr ...
in Sudbury, Ontario. She stated that she had chosen to attend the event because the city has been home to one of Canada's most ambitious environmental reclamation programs: "When people ask if there's hope (for the environment), I say, if Sudbury can do it, so can you. Having been a symbol of desolation, it's become a symbol of hope." Atwood has been chair of the Writers' Union of Canada and helped to found the Canadian English-speaking chapter of
PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...
, a group originally started to free politically imprisoned writers. She held the position of PEN Canada president in the mid 1980s and was the 2017 recipient of the PEN Center USA's Lifetime Achievement Award. Despite calls for a boycott by Gazan students, Atwood visited
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and accepted the $1,000,000 Dan David Prize along with Indian author Amitav Ghosh at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
in May 2010. Atwood commented that "we don't do cultural boycotts." In her
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
n novel ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' (1985), all the developments take place near Boston in the United States, now known as Gilead, while Canada is portrayed as the only hope for an escape. To some this reflects her status of being "in the vanguard of Canadian anti-Americanism of the 1960s and 1970s". Critics have seen the mistreated Handmaid as Canada. During the debate in 1987 over a free-trade agreement between Canada and the United States, Atwood spoke out against the deal and wrote an essay opposing it. She said that the
2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...
led to an increase in sales of ''The Handmaid's Tale''.
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
reported that ''The Handmaid's Tale'' was the most-read book of 2017. ''The Handmaid's Tale'' sequel, ''The Testaments'', also saw a rapid increase of sales immediately following the
2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...
, with ''The Handmaid's Tale'' reaching third in Amazon's bestseller's list. Following this election, Atwood wrote on X, "Despair is not an option. It helps no one."


TV cameos

In 2024, Atwood had a cameo in a season 17 episode of ''
Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...
'' as Lorin Quinelle, an amateur ornithologist.


Activism

In 2018, Atwood signed an appeal of the American PEN Center in defense of Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, a political prisoner in Russia. In July 2020, Atwood was one of the 153 signers of the "Harper's Letter" (also known as " A Letter on Justice and Open Debate") that expressed concern that "the free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted." On February 24, 2022, Atwood briefly covered the war in Ukraine at the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and published a link to the state aid fund on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. She continues to publish information about the war in Ukraine on the social network.


Adaptations

Atwood's novel '' Surfacing'' (1972) was adapted into a 1981 film of the same name written by Bernard Gordon and directed by Claude Jutra. It received poor reviews; one reviewer wrote that it made "little attempt to find cinematic equivalents for the admittedly difficult subjective and poetic dimensions of the novel." Atwood's novel ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' (1985) has been adapted several times. A 1990 film, directed by
Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He ha ...
, with a screenplay by
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...
, received mixed reviews. A musical adaptation resulted in the 2000 opera, written by Poul Ruders, with a libretto by Paul Bentley. It premiered at the Royal Danish Opera in 2000, and was staged in 2003 at London's
English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...
and the Minnesota Opera. Boston Lyric Opera mounted a production in May 2019, described by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "a triumph". A
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
by Bruce Miller began airing on the streaming service
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
in 2017. The first season of the show earned eight
Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in 2017, including Outstanding Drama Series. Season two premiered on April 25, 2018, and it was announced on May 2, 2018, that Hulu had renewed the series for a third season. Atwood appears in a cameo in the first episode as one of the Aunts at the Red Center. In 2019, a graphic novel () based on the book and with the same title was published by Renée Nault. In 2003, six of Atwood's short stories were adapted by Shaftesbury Films for the anthology television series '' The Atwood Stories''. Atwood's 2008 Massey Lectures were adapted into the documentary '' Payback'' (2012), by director Jennifer Baichwal. Commentary by Atwood and others such as economist
Raj Patel Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States for extended periods. He has been referred to as "the rock star of social justice w ...
, ecologist William Reese, and religious scholar
Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...
, are woven into various stories that explore the concepts of debt and payback, including an Armenian blood feud, agricultural working conditions, and the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...
. The novel '' Alias Grace'' (1996) was adapted into a six-part 2017 miniseries directed by
Mary Harron Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. She co-wrote the screenplay and directed ''American Psycho'', '' The Notorious Bettie Page' and I Shot Andy Warhol.'' Early life Born in Bracebridge, Ontar ...
and adapted by
Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist and actress.Howell, Peter (September 24, 199"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft s ...
. It premiered on
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
on September 25, 2017, and the full series was released on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
on November 3, 2017. Atwood makes a cameo in the fourth episode of the series as a disapproving churchgoer. '' In the Wake of the Flood'' (released in October 2010), a documentary film by the Canadian director
Ron Mann Ronald Mann (born June 13, 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian documentary film film director, director. His work includes the films ''Imagine the Sound'' (1981); ''Comic Book Confidential'' (1988); ''Grass (1999 film), Grass'' (1999) and ''Go Furt ...
, followed Atwood on the unusual book tour for her novel ''
The Year of the Flood ''The Year of the Flood'' is a novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, the second book of her dystopian trilogy, released on September 22, 2009, in Canada and the United States, and on September 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom. The novel was ...
'' (2009). During this innovative book tour, Atwood created a theatrical version of her novel, with performers borrowed from the local areas she was visiting. The documentary is described as "a fly-on-the-wall film vérité". Atwood's children's book ''Wandering Wenda and Widow Wallop's Wunderground Washery'' (2011) was adapted into the children's television series ''The Wide World of Wandering Wenda'', broadcast on
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
beginning in the spring of 2017. Aimed at early readers, the animated series follows Wenda and her friends as they navigate different adventures using words, sounds, and language. Director
Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, dramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological realism. His accolades include a Golden Lion ...
had been slated to direct an adaptation of the '' MaddAddam'' trilogy for
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
, but it was revealed in October 2016 that HBO had dropped the plan from its schedule. In January 2018, it was announced that
Paramount Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...
and Anonymous Content had bought the rights to the trilogy and would be producing it without Aronofsky.


Awards and honours

Atwood holds numerous honorary degrees from various institutions, including The Sorbonne,
NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
as well as
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
universities. ; Awards *
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
, 1966, 1985 * Toronto Book Awards, 1977, 1989 * Companion of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
, 1981 *
Guggenheim fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
, 1981 * Los Angeles Times Fiction Award, 1986 *
American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a 501(c) organization, non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism. The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defe ...
Humanist of the Year, 1987 *
Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...
, 1986 and
Prometheus Award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the Best Novel category for the award in 1979; however, it was not award ...
, 1987 and 2020 nominations, both science fiction awards. * Arthur C. Clarke Award for best Science Fiction, 1987 * Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
, 1988 * Canadian Booksellers Association Author of the Year, 1989 * Outstanding Canadian Award – Armenian Community Centre of Toronto, 1989 *
Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...
, 1990 *
Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award ( or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency (Ontario), Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is overseen by ...
, 1991, 1993, 1995 *
Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...
, 1996 * Government of France's Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, 1994 * Helmerich Award, 1999, by the Tulsa Library Trust. *
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
, 2000, 2019 * Hammett Prize, 2000 * Key to the City of Ottawa, 2000, presented by acting mayor Allan Higdon * Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement, 2007 *
Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...
for Literature, 2008 * Fellow
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...
, 2010 * Nelly Sachs Prize, Germany, 2010 * Dan David Prize, Israel, 2010 * Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Canada, 2012 *
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize currently has nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), his ...
"Innovator's Award", 2012 * Royalty Society of Literature's "Companions of Literature" award, 2012 * Audie Award for Fiction, 2013 * Gold medal of the
Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization. It has dedicated itself to spreading a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, i ...
, 2015 * Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, 2015 * Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings, Macedonia, 2016 *
Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award The Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 1981, is an annual literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle in honor of its first president, Ivan Sandrof. The award "is given to a person or institution who has, ove ...
, 2016 * PEN Pinter Prize, 2016 *
Tähtivaeltaja Award Tähtivaeltaja Award is an annual literary prize presented by Helsingin science fiction seura ry for the best science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imag ...
2016, 2020 *
Franz Kafka Prize The Franz Kafka Prize is an international literary award presented in honour of Franz Kafka, the Jewish, Bohemian, German-language novelist. The prize was first awarded in 2001 and is co-sponsored by the Franz Kafka Society and the city of Prag ...
, Czech Republic, 2017 *
St. Louis Literary Award The St. Louis Literary Award has been presented yearly since 1967 to a distinguished figure in literature. It is sponsored by the Saint Louis University Library Associates. Winners Past Recipients of the Award: *2025 Colson Whitehead *2024 J ...
, 2017 * Aurora Awards, 2017 *
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is an international list of peace prizes, peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Frankfurter Paulskirche, Paulskirche in Frankfurt. T ...
, Germany, 2017 * Lorne Pierce Medal, 2018 * Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, 2019 *
Goodreads Choice Awards The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009. Winners are determined by crowdvoting, users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most boo ...
, 2013, 2019, 2020 * The Center for Fiction, 2019 * Galaxy Award, China, 2019 * Dayton Literary Peace Prize, 2020 *
British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...
, 2020 * Kurd Laßwitz Award, 2020 * Australian Book Industry Awards, 2020 *
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
President's Medal, 2020 * Emerson-Thoreau Medal (2020) * Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany * Hitchens Prize (2022) * Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award (2024) Atwood also was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series as ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
's'' producer in 2018, 2020, and 2021. ; Honorary degrees *
Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Founded in 1964, the university is known for its Oxbridge college system, sma ...
, 1973 * Queen's University, 1974 *
Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...
, 1979 *
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
, 1982 *
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, 1983 *
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...
, 1985 *
University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...
, 1985 *
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...
, 1985 * Victoria College, 1987 *
Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
, 1991 *
University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
, 1994 *
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
, 1996 * Lakehead University, 1998 *
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, 1998 *
Algoma University Algoma University, commonly shortened to Algoma U, is a Canadian public university in the province of Ontario, with campuses in Brampton, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, and Timmins. Algoma U offers bachelor's degrees, master's degre ...
, 2001 *
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, 2001 *
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
, 2004 *
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, 2004 * Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, 2005 * National University of Ireland, Galway, 2011Walsh, Caroline
"Margaret Atwood to be honoured by NUI Galway"
. ''The Irish Times''. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
*
Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...
, 2012 *
Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...
( LLD), November 16, 2012 *
University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...
, 2013 *
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, 2014 * Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2017 *
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
, 2023


Works

Summary Bibliography ; Novels * '' The Edible Woman'' (1969) * '' Surfacing'' (1972) * '' Lady Oracle'' (1976) * '' Life Before Man'' (1979, finalist for the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
) * '' Bodily Harm'' (1981) * ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' (1985, winner of the 1987 Arthur C. Clarke Award and 1985 Governor General's Award, finalist for the 1986
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
) * '' Cat's Eye'' (1988, finalist for the 1988 Governor General's Award and the 1989
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
) * '' The Robber Bride'' (1993, finalist for the 1994 Governor General's Award and shortlisted for the
James Tiptree Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...
) * '' Alias Grace'' (1996, winner of the 1996
Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...
, finalist for the 1996
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
and the 1996 Governor General's Award, shortlisted for the 1997
Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
) * '' The Blind Assassin'' (2000, winner of the 2000
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
and finalist for the 2000 Governor General's Award, shortlisted for the 2001
Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
.) * '' Oryx and Crake'' (2003, finalist for the 2003
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
and the 2003 Governor General's Award and shortlisted for the 2004
Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
.) * '' The Penelopiad'' (2005, nominated for the 2006 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and longlisted for the 2007
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
) * ''
The Year of the Flood ''The Year of the Flood'' is a novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, the second book of her dystopian trilogy, released on September 22, 2009, in Canada and the United States, and on September 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom. The novel was ...
'' (2009, Oryx and Crake companion, longlisted for the 2011
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
) * '' MaddAddam'' (2013) (Third novel in Oryx and Crake trilogy) * ''Scribbler Moon'' (written in 2014 as part of the Future Library project; will remain unpublished until 2114) * '' The Heart Goes Last'' (2015) (Winner of the 2015 Red Tentacle award) * '' Hag-Seed'' (2016) (Longlisted for the 2017 Women Prize for Fiction) * '' The Testaments'' (2019, joint winner of the 2019 Booker Prize) ;Short fiction collections * '' Dancing Girls'' (1977, winner of the St. Lawrence Award for Fiction and the award of The Periodical Distributors of Canada for Short Fiction) * '' Murder in the Dark'' (1983) * '' Bluebeard's Egg'' (1983) * '' Wilderness Tips'' (1991, finalist for the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
) * '' Good Bones'' (1992) * '' Good Bones and Simple Murders'' (1994) * '' The Labrador Fiasco'' (1996) * '' The Tent'' (2006) * '' Moral Disorder'' (2006) * '' Stone Mattress'' (2014) * '' Old Babes in the Wood'' (2023) ;Poetry collections * '' Double Persephone'' (1961) * '' The Circle Game'' (1964, winner of the 1966 Governor General's Award) * '' Expeditions'' (1965) * '' Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein'' (1966) * '' The Animals in That Country'' (1968) * '' The Journals of Susanna Moodie'' (1970) * '' Procedures for Underground'' (1970) * ''
Power Politics Power politics is a term which denotes an approach to political matters which aims to enhance the power of government actors. The term has much usage in the realm of international relations, and it is often used pejoratively. The German term fo ...
'' (1971) * '' You Are Happy'' (1974) Includes the poem '' Song of the Worms'' * ''Selected Poems'' (1976) * '' Two-Headed Poems'' (1978) * '' True Stories'' (1981) * ''Snake Poems'' (1983) * '' Interlunar'' (1984) * ''Selected Poems 1966–1984'' (Canada) * ''Selected Poems II: 1976–1986'' (US) * '' Morning in the Burned House'', McClelland & Stewart (1995) * ''Eating Fire: Selected Poems, 1965–1995'' (UK,1998) *
"You Begin."
(1978) – as recited by Margaret Atwood; included in all three most recent editions of her "Selected Poems" as listed above (US, CA, UK) * '' The Door'' (2007) * ''Dearly'' (2020) * ''Paper Boat: New and Selected Poems: 1961–2023'' (2024) ;E-books * ''I'm Starved For You: Positron, Episode One'' (2012) * ''Choke Collar: Positron, Episode Two'' (2012) * ''Erase Me: Positron, Episode Three'' (2013) * ''The Heart Goes Last: Positron, Episode Four'' (2013) * ''The Happy Zombie Sunrise Home'' (2013) (with
Naomi Alderman Naomi Alderman (born 1974) is an English novelist, Game design, game writer, and television executive producer. She is best known for her speculative science fiction novel ''The Power (Alderman novel), The Power'', which won the Women's Prize f ...
) * ''My Evil Mother'' (2022) * ''Cut and Thirst'' (2024) ;Anthologies edited * ''The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse'' (1982) * ''The Canlit Foodbook'' (1987) * ''The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English'' (1988) * ''The Best American Short Stories 1989'' (1989) (with Shannon Ravenel) * ''The New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English'' (1995) ; Children's books * ''Up in the Tree'' (1978) * ''Anna's Pet'' (1980) (with Joyce C. Barkhouse) * ''For the Birds'' (1990) (with Shelly Tanaka) * ''Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut'' (1995) * ''Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes'' (2003) * ''Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda'' (2006) * ''Wandering Wenda and Widow Wallop's Wunderground Washery'' (2011); inspired a cartoon series called Wandering Wenda in 2016. ; Non-fiction * '' Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature'' (1972) * ''Days of the Rebels 1815–1840'' (1977) * ''Second Words: Selected Critical Prose'' (1982) * ''Through the One-Way Mirror'' (1986) * ''Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature'' (1995) * '' Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing'' (2002) * ''Moving Targets: Writing with Intent, 1982–2004'' (2004) * '' Writing with Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose 1983–2005'' (2005) * '' Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth'' (2008) * ''In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination'' (2011) * ''On Writers and Writing'' (2015) * ''Burning Questions: Essays & Occasional Pieces 2004–2021'' (2022) * ''Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts'' (2025) ;Drawings * ''Kanadian Kultchur Komix'' featuring "Survivalwoman" in '' This Magazine'' under the pseudonym, Bart Gerrard 1975–1980 * Others appear on her website. ;Comics * ''Angel Catbird'' (#1–3), with Johnnie Christmas and Tamra Bonvillain (2016) * ''War Bears'' (#1–3), with Ken Steacy (2018) ; Television scripts * ''The Servant Girl'' (1974) * '' Snowbird'' (1981) * '' Heaven on Earth'' (1987) ; Libretti * '' The Trumpets of Summer'' (1964) (with composer John Beckwith) * ''Frankenstein Monster Song'' (2004, with rock band One Ring Zero) * "Pauline", a chamber opera in two acts, with composer Tobin Stokes for City Opera Vancouver (2014) ;Audio recordings * ''The Poetry and Voice of Margaret Atwood'' (1977) * ''Margaret Atwood Reads "Unearthing Suite"'' (1985) * ''Margaret Atwood Reading From Her Poems'' (2005) * Margaret Atwood as herself in '' Zombies, Run'', as a surviving radio operator in themes. ;Filmography * She is credited as herself in all 26 episodes of the Breakthrough Entertainment's children's show ''The Wide World of Wandering Wenda'' in which she wears funny hats to match the various themes (2017)


See also

* Southern Ontario Gothic * Canadian poetry * List of Canadian poets *
List of Canadian writers This is a list of Canadian literature, Canadian literary figures, such as poets, novelists, children's writers, essayists, and scholars. __NOTOC__ A B C Jenny Denis 1983 high Fantasy YA Dragons of Nesbit E F G H I J ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

*
In the Writing Burrow
Margaret Atwood Substack
Margaret Atwood Society official website
* *

by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''
Interview of Margaret Atwood
by ''The Forum'' on the
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atwood, Margaret 1939 births 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Academic staff of Concordia University Academic staff of Sir George Williams University Academic staff of the University of Alberta Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Academic staff of York University Anti-American sentiment in North America Booker Prize winners Canadian agnostics Canadian environmentalists Canadian feminist writers Canadian humanists Canadian literary critics Canadian Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Canadian satirists Canadian satirical novelists Canadian women satirists Canadian science fiction writers Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian women academics Canadian women environmentalists Canadian women literary critics Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets Canadian women short story writers Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Governor General's Award–winning fiction writers Governor General's Award–winning poets Harbourfront Festival Prize winners Literary critics of English Living people Members of the Order of Ontario New York University faculty People from Essex County, Ontario People from New Tecumseth Postmodern feminists Postmodern writers Radcliffe College alumni Recipients of Princess of Asturias Awards Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates University of Toronto alumni 20th-century women inventors Canadian women science fiction and fantasy writers Poets from Ottawa Poets from Toronto Writers from Simcoe County 21st-century women inventors Canadian inventors Canadian memoirists Novelists from Toronto Novelists from Ottawa