Margaret Atwood Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Margaret Atwood
OCCUPATION: Literary Critic, Journalist, Author, Poet
EDUCATION: Victoria College, Radcliffe College, Harvard University
PLACE OF BIRTH: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Full Name: Margaret Eleanor Atwood

Best Known For

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian award-winning writer best known for her poetry, short-stories and novels such as The Circle Game, The Handmaid’s Tale, Snowbird and The Tent.

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Margaret Atwood

APA Style

Margaret Atwood. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:00, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928.

Harvard Style

Margaret Atwood. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928 [Accessed 21 May 2013].

MLA Style

"Margaret Atwood." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 09:00 http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928.

MHRA Style

"Margaret Atwood," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928 [accessed May 21, 2013].

Chicago Style

"Margaret Atwood," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928 (accessed May 21, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

Margaret Atwood [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928.

Bluebook Style

Margaret Atwood, http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928 (last visited May 21, 2013).

AMA Style

Margaret Atwood. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-atwood-9191928. Accessed May 21, 2013.

Synopsis

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian writer born on November 18, 1939 in Ottawa, Canada. The internationally-known author has written award-winning poetry, short-stories and novels, including The Circle Game (1966), The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Snowbird (1981), The Blind Assassin (2000), The Tent (2006) and more. Her works have been translated into 30 different languages.

Quotes

"War is what happens when language fails."

– Margaret Atwood

Career Highlights

Novelist, short-story writer, poet, and critic. Born on in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Margaret Atwood is one of today's leading fiction writers. She studied at the University of Toronto and Radcliffe College, becoming a lecturer in English literature. Her first published work was a collection of poems entitled The Circle Game (1966), which won the Governor-General's Award.

Since then Margaret Atwood has published many volumes of poetry and short stories, but is best known as a novelist. Her controversial The Edible Woman (1969) is one of several novels focusing on women's issues. Her futuristic novel, The Handmaid's Tale (1985) — which was later turned into a film by Harold Pinter—was short-listed for the Booker Prize, as was Cat's Eye in 1989. She finally won the award for The Blind Assassin (2000). Other critically acclaimed works by Margaret Atwood include The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and Oryx and Crake (2003). Her Survival (1972) is widely considered to be the best book on Canadian literature.

In 2006, Margaret Atwood had several new publications: The Tent, a volume of tales and poems; Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda, a children's book; and Moral Disorder, a collection of short stories. She continues to be a popular author worldwide; her works have been translated into more than 30 different languages.