Margaret Atwood has spent most of her 86 years writing prolifically across subjects and genres, from speculative fiction to poetry to children’s books—often plumbing the depths of her own relationships and experiences to do so. But it’s only now that the celebrated writer is putting her own life to paper. In her recently published memoir, Book of Lives, Atwood chronicles everything from her youth in the Canadian wilderness, to her early professional years toiling in relative obscurity, to the various grudges and score settling she’s finally able to undertake freely—since the people involved, she notes, are now largely dead.
Of course, Atwood long ago ascended from being defined merely as a writer. She has become, particularly since her dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale experienced a timely resurgence during the first Trump administration, something of a sociocultural and political expert, asked to opine on everything from dictatorships to reproductive rights to social media. Her takes, it must be said, are often very smart and very good. They’re also, as I learned during a lengthy and expansive conversation with Atwood for The Big Interview podcast, still decidedly reassuring: In a 2023 interview with WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs, Atwood said that she was still optimistic about the United States. Despite everything that’s happened thus far during Trump 2.0, she tells me her stance hasn’t changed.
As a Canadian myself, the child of a writer, and someone who doesn’t believe in god, interviewing Margaret Atwood is probably as close as I’ll get to having a truly religious experience. Atwood was sharp, hilarious, and generous with her time—even leaving her landline phone off the hook when it wouldn’t stop ringing—as we talked about the merits of jumping from gig to gig, the ins and outs of political resistance, doomscrolling, and much, much more. Here’s our conversation.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
KATIE DRUMMOND: Margaret Atwood, welcome to The Big Interview.
MARGARET ATWOOD: Thank you very much.
Thank you for being here. Now, we always start these conversations with some very quick questions, like a warm-up for your brain. Are you ready?
I'm always ready.
Typewriter or computer?
Right now, computer.
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