Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is a renowned novelist, poet, literary critic, essayist and activist. One of Canada's most influential contemporary voices, she was born in Ottawa and educated at the University of Toronto and Radcliffe College. In 1966, Atwood won the Governor General's Award for The Circle Game, her second book of poetry. She published her first novel, the acclaimed The Edible Woman, in 1969. To date, in addition to essays, works of short fiction and non-fiction, children's books and other assorted writing, she has published 17 books of poetry, 16 novels and edited five anthologies. Her dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale, is set in a totalitarian near-future and is one of Atwood's many works of fiction that challenges misogyny and patriarchal oppression. The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Literary Award and has been adapted into a film, an opera, and a 2017 television series. She has received numerous Canadian and international awards and distinctions, including the Order of Canada.

“A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together.”