Margaret (Eleanor) Atwood
, (born Nov. 18, 1939, Ottawa, Ont., Can.), Canadian writer. Atwood attended the University of Toronto and Harvard University. In the poetry collection
The Circle Game
(1964, Governor General’s Award), she celebrated the natural world and condemned materialism. Her novels, many of which became best sellers, include
Lady Oracle
(1976);
Bodily Harm
(1981);
The Handmaid’s Tale
(1985, Governor General’s Award) and its sequel,
The Testaments
(2019, Booker Prize);
The Robber Bride
(1993);
Alias Grace
(1996);
The Blind Assassin
(2000, Booker Prize); and
The Penelopiad
(2005).
Oryx and Crake
(2003),
The Year of the Flood
(2009), and
MaddAddam
(2013) are a trilogy of novels. Atwood’s 16th poetry collection,
Dearly
, was published in 2020.
Old Babes in the Wood
(2023) is one of her collections of short stories. A number of her works have been adapted for TV and film. Atwood teaches literature and is noted for her
feminist
advocacy and political activism.