Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses rape, sexual violence, and gender discrimination.

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author. She is best known for her 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale. In 2019, she released its long-awaited sequel, The Testaments. Atwood has published 17 full-length novels, and she has also published numerous standalone short stories, poetry collections, short story collections, nonfiction titles, essays, and children’s books. Atwood also releases short stories via Amazon Shorts. Her story “Cut and Thirst” (2024) was nominated for an Edgar Award. “Rape Fantasies,” originally published in The Fiddlehead literary magazine in 1975 and later included in Atwood’s 1977 collection Dancing Girls, helped solidify her reputation as a sharp observer of gender dynamics and the everyday distortions of power.

Atwood was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1939, and lived between Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto over the years following. She later earned her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and earned her master’s degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University. She studied English, French, and philosophy. 

Atwood has taught English and writing at many universities, including the University of British Columbia, Sir George Williams University, the University of Alberta, York University, the University of Toronto, the University of Alabama, New York University, and elsewhere. 

Over the course of her esteemed writing career, Atwood has received numerous awards and honors. Some notable awards include the 2000 and the 2019 Book Prize; the 2007 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement, the 2016 PEN Pinter Prize; the 2013, 2019, and the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards; and the 2020 Emerson-Thoreau Medal. While her novels like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Blind Assassin have received more mainstream recognition, Atwood’s short fiction is often praised by literary critics for its economy, wit, and psychological nuance. Stories like “Rape Fantasies” reveal her style within a short form, using limited space to explore complex social issues with irony.

Atwood is also known for her social activism. In 2018, she signed the American PEN Center appeal defending Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian political prisoner in Russia. In 2020, she signed the Harper’s Letter, or “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” expressing concern over the restriction of information in a liberal society. In 2022, Atwood wrote about the war in Ukraine and ran aid funds for the effort on Twitter/X. 

With over 50 books published in more than 45 countries and languages, Atwood is a literary icon. Her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are particularly known for their bold confrontation of social issues and political injustices. Atwood is a feminist author, and her works often deal with issues regarding women’s rights. Her publications also feature themes of freedom, autonomy, female friendship, political oppression, speculative political scenarios, or playful adaptations of Greek myths. Atwood consistently incorporates wit, humor, irony, and satire into her writing—rendering her work both accessible and challenging at once. This is especially true in stories like “Rape Fantasies,” where humor and discomfort are held in tension to expose contradictions in societal narratives around gender, violence, and control.

Many of Atwood’s titles have been adapted into films. Most notably, The Handmaid’s Tale was translated to the screen in a hit Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss. The show’s 2017 first season won eight Emmys. Other adaptations of Atwood’s titles include the 2003 adaptation of The Atwood Stories by Shaftesbury Films, the 2017 miniseries adaptation of Alias Grace, and the 2010 documentary adaptation of The Year of the Flood. 

Other notable titles by Atwood include The Blind Assassin (2000), The Penelopiad (2005), Power Politics (1971), Old Babes in the Wood (2023), Dearly (2020), and Double Persephone (1961). Atwood is writing a memoir, titled Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, slated for publication in November 2025 from Penguin Random House.