What is the nationality of author Margaret Atwood?

Margaret Atwood is Canadian. She was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1939 and became one of the country’s most internationally recognized writers.

Atwood writes novels, poetry, essays, and literary criticism. Her best-known works include The Handmaid’s Tale, published in 1985, The Blind Assassin, which won the 2000 Booker Prize, and Oryx and Crake. Her writing often explores gender, power, identity, language, environmental crisis, and political control.

A common mix-up is to identify Atwood as British or American because her books are widely published and her fiction often addresses issues with international relevance. She has lived and worked in several places, including the United States, but her nationality is Canadian. She has also received major Canadian honors, including appointment to the Order of Canada.

Readers who know The Handmaid’s Tale may also recognize that its author’s Canadian background influenced the novel’s perspective: Canada appears as a comparatively freer society beyond Gilead’s authoritarian borders.