In Conversation with Margaret Atwood

The 'The Handmaid's Tale' writer is heading Down Under to discuss her long-awaited, Booker Prize-winning sequel.
Samantha Teague
January 31, 2020

Overview

After heading to Australia earlier this year for a one-night-only show at the Sydney Opera House, Margaret Atwood is heading Down Under once again in early 2020. This time, though, she'll be hitting up six Aussie cities (Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart and Perth) as well as Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.

The Canadian writer also has some very exciting new material to discuss — her long-awaited sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale', called 'The Testaments'. Released 34 years after the original, the novel is set 15 years after Offred's final scene and is narrated by three female characters. Since it's release in September, 'The Testaments' has already garnered one of the world's biggest literary awards, the Booker Prize, which it won jointly with Bernardine Evaristo's 'Girl, Woman, Other'.

As well as discussing her award-winning new novel, the seminal 1985 book and the captivating TV drama it inspired, Atwood will chat about her life and career, and the rest of her very extensive body of works. While it seems this talk won't be quite as political as her SOH conversation, it's likely Atwood will dip into topics such as extremist politics, feminism and climate change — they are themes that are brought up time and time again in her fictional works, after all.

It'll be an interesting, if not eyebrow-raising, talk — as well as being an obvious advocate for women's rights, Atwood has came under fire for her controversial take on the #MeToo movement and her reluctance to call The Handmaid's Tale feminist.

It's said the talks will also have a Q&A segment, so putt on your thinking hats and get some questions ready.

Image: Jean Malek

Information

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