Margaret Atwood Biography Flash a weekly Biography.

Margaret Atwood continues to dominate literary and cultural conversations as we head into November. The eighty-five-year-old Canadian author received the Eleanor Roosevelt Bravery in Literature Lifetime Achievement Award on October eleventh at the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York. According to Parade, Atwood addressed the audience with characteristic wit and wisdom, reflecting on censorship efforts targeting her work. She remarked that book banning happens when people are feeling angry and want to demonstrate dominance by squashing others underfoot, before delivering a perfectly timed punchline suggesting book banners take up knitting instead.

The timing of this honor carries particular weight. PEN America identifies Atwood as one of the nation's most frequently banned authors, a reality underscored by recent events in Alberta, Canada. In August, Alberta's Ministry of Education ordered schools to remove books containing sexually explicit material by October first, and The Handmaid's Tale landed squarely on that list. According to Euronews, Atwood responded with characteristic defiance, writing on social media to get the book before public book burnings began. She then released a satirical short story online mocking the ban, featuring perfectly virtuous children named John and Mary and a clever reference to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wearing the blue dress of a Handmaid's Tale wife.

On the professional front, Atwood's long-awaited memoir titled Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts is arriving November fourth, and the literary world is buzzing. According to multiple sources, Wordfest announced a sold-out event celebrating the memoir, with Atwood appearing at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary as the final stop on her three-city Canadian tour. The conversation will be hosted by acclaimed author Heather O'Neill, with book copies available for purchase.

During Banned Books Week 2025, which concluded recently, Atwood appeared at PEN America events in New York, where she encouraged young writers taking risks and praised librarians fighting censorship. She declared that as long as rooms exist filled with vibrant literary activity in America, the nation is not living under fascist rule.

At eighty-five, Atwood shows no signs of slowing down, continuing to champion free expression while her dystopian masterpiece remains eerily prescient. Thank you for listening to this Margaret Atwood Biography Flash episode. Please subscribe to never miss an update on this legendary author's ongoing cultural impact. Search Biography Flash for more great biographies.

And that is it for today. Make sure you hit the subscribe button and never miss an update on Margaret Atwood. Thanks for listening. This has been a Quiet Please production."



Get the best deals https://amzn.to/4mMClBv

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI