We are beyond honoured — and genuinely humbled — to welcome Margaret Atwood as AURA’s inaugural keynote.

A literary icon, visionary thinker and one of the most influential voices of our time, Margaret has spent decades challenging us to question what we believe, imagine what is possible, and see the world through a wider lens.

We are deeply grateful that she will travel to Vancouver and take the time to share her wisdom, perspective and experience with our community.

It is a privilege to begin this journey with someone whose voice has shaped generations — and we cannot wait to gather with her, and with all of you, for the conversation.

Margaret Atwood
Inaugural Keynote · AURA 2027

MARGARET ATWOOD has long been a literary titan, and her words continue to resonate with every generation. Her landmark novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) was adapted into a fifteen-time Emmy Award-winning television series, and its sequel, The Testaments (also a Hulu TV series), won the 2019 Booker Prize. Her New York Timesbestselling memoir, Book of Lives, recounts the life of one of the greatest storytellers of our time, unveiling both the workings of a once-in-a-generation imagination and the connections between real life and art. In talks, Atwood reveals hidden truths in our societies, inspiring us to speak out against injustice and preparing us for the battle ahead. Today, her sharp eye and characteristic wit are more crucial—and prescient—than ever.

“Every totalitarian government on the planet has always taken a very great interest in women’s reproductive rights,” says Margaret Atwood: a disquieting insight at any time, but particularly in today’s portentous political landscape. Just as it did when it was first published, the story of The Handmaid’s Tale—a future where women are treated as property of the state, run by an authoritarian regime—is unearthing chilling patterns to an uneasy public. The book’s long-awaited sequel The Testaments performed so well it broke the record for best first-day sales of any Penguin Random House title that year.

“With dry, ironic wit, a poetic sensibility and more than a hint of the Gothic, she has uncompromisingly observed the psychology of people in her society.”

The New York Times

With her work already producing three blockbuster television adaptations—The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace, and The Testaments—Atwood’s vision is reaching a wider audience than ever before. To date, The Handmaid’s Tale has received 15 Emmy Awards, including Best Drama, and Atwood herself received a standing ovation at the show. Meanwhile, Atwood’s Giller-winning, Booker-shortlisted murder mystery Alias Grace was adapted into a Netflix original miniseries, which was notably written, produced, and directed by women.

Her hotly acclaimed memoir, Book of Lives, unfolds the story of her life: from her nomadic childhood in the forests of northern Quebec to the seminal moments that sparked the books that have shaped our literary landscape. Along the way, with her signature wit and storytelling skill, she introduces us to a larger-than-life cast of characters and offers a peek into the workings of one of our generation’s greatest imaginations. Book of Lives is a New York Times bestseller that was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, Guardian, Amazon, and Kirkus. The Boston Globe calls it “the most spectacular, hilarious, and generous autobiography of the last quarter century–or ever.”

In her latest short story collection, Old Babes in the Wood, she explores the depth of human experience with her signature wit and insight: touching on mother-daughter relationships, the afterlife, what it looks like to grow old together, and much more. NPR says, “Old Babes in the Woodis touching, smart, funny, and unique in equal measure. A dazzling mixture of stories that explore what it means to be human while also showcasing Atwood’s gifted imagination and great sense of humor.”

Atwood is the author of more than fifty volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction. To date, Atwood’s body of work has been published in more than 40 languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. She has also won many international literary awards, including the prestigious Booker Prize, Arthur C. Clarke Award, Governor General’s Award, the PEN Pinter Prize, the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She was presented with the Companion of Honor award—given for achievements in the arts, literature, science, and politics—by Queen Elizabeth, making Atwood the third Canadian to receive the honor. Atwood is a founder of the Writers’ Trust of Canada and a founding trustee of the Griffin Poetry Prize. She is also a popular personality on Twitter, with over two million followers.