“The answers you get from literature depend on the questions you pose”

~Margaret Atwood

Born: 18 November, 1939. Ottawa, Ontario. She is the daughter of a forest entomologist, and spent part of her early years in the bush of North Quebec. The subject of her fathers study didn't interest her, so she would spend her time reading books.

Education: After she graduted from high school her goal mentioned in her year book was to, "Write the next great Canadian novel." Victoria College, University of Toronto, B.A., 1961; Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass., A.M., 1962; Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1962-63, 1965-67.

Lives: Toronto, 1992-present

Employment: Lecturer in English, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 1964-65; Instructor in English, Sir George Williams University, Montreal, 1967-68; University of Alberta, 1969-70; Assistant Professor of English, York University, Toronto, 1971-72; Writer-In-Residence, University of Toronto, 1972-73; M.F.A. Honorary Chair, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1985; Berg Chair, New York University, 1986; Writer-In- Residence, Macquarie Univ., Australia, 1987; Writer-In-Residence, Trinity Univ., San Antonio, Texas, 1989.

Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship, a Molson Award, the Ida Nudel Humanitarian Award, and a Canada Short Fiction Award.

Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May, 1981 to May, 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986.

Other: Some of her novels have been made into films including The Handmaid's Tale.