Canadian writer Margaret Atwood was born on November 18, 1939, in Ottawa, Ontario. As a poet, novelist, literary critic, author of children's books, feminist, and activist, she has had an impressive and lasting impact on feminist writing and literature. While her literary work has been characterized as “science fiction,” she has insisted that “speculative fiction” is much more representative of her work.

In addition to poetry and short fiction collections, edited anthologies, children's books, and nonfiction, she has published a long list of novels, including The Edible Woman (1969), Surfacing (1972), Lady Oracle (1976), Life Before Man (1979), Bodily Harm (1981), The Handmaid's Tale (1985), Cat's Eye (1988), The Robber Bride (1993), Alias Grace (1996), The Blind Assassin (2000), winner of the Booker Prize (2000), Oryx ...