Burning Questions

This isn’t just a collection of essays for Atwood fans. Rather, this is an attempt to make sense of the world, taking in with characteristic verve everything from Anne of Green Gables to Donald Trump, zombies to censorship … While the tone skates from surreal off-kilter wit to impassioned gravity, Atwood always makes the idea of big questions a little more digestible … The collection is polyphonic, enthusiastic, illuminating – Sophie Macintosh * i News *Margaret Atwood was recently described in a Guardian interview as “arguably the most famous living literary novelist in the world”, and she is undoubtedly the most venerable … It’s fascinating to read Atwood’s reflections on her own novels and their continued relevance … but equally striking to see how many pieces she has included here generously celebrating other writers – Stephanie Merritt * Observer *If there’s one person in the world from whom you’d want a hot take on the most pressing issues, it would surely be Margaret Atwood … She answers our burning questions on climate change, the rise of Trump and on to debt and tech – Joanna Taylor * Evening Standard *With her bold imagination, calm insight, and wit, Atwood gathers diverse strands into a marvellous collection ranging from the history of forests to the nature of science fiction and beyond. Burning Questions is a delicious antidote to intellectual fragmentation that left me inspired – Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled LifeA compilation of essays that pick the brain of Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood, this is a wonderfully written insight into everything from zombies to the climate crisis * Stylist *I drank in the book this past weekend, in two warm slugs – Jennifer Senior * Atlantic *[Atwood’s] intelligence shines off the page with such intensity it makes you blink – Rose Shepherd * Saga Magazine *The mighty Margaret Atwood writes about everything from granola to Trump – Robbie Millen * The Times, Books to Look Out For 2022 *Atwood’s third collection of essays…does not fail to impress… This is one to dip into again and again, and is likely to remain relevant many years into the future * UK Press Syndication *Atwood…always…gets right to the heart of the matter… More than 50 pieces display her astonishing range… Each is written with her trademark wit – Erica Wagner * Harper’s Bazaar *

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin and the MaddAddam trilogy. Her 1985 classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, was followed in 2019 by a sequel, The Testaments, which was a global number one bestseller and shared the Booker Prize. In 2020 she published Dearly, her first collection of poetry for a decade; in 2022 Burning Questions, a selection of essays, was a Sunday Times bestseller; and in 2023, Old Babes in the Wood, a volume of short stories, was a number one Sunday Times bestseller. Atwood is a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, and has won numerous awards including the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She has also worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, librettist, playwright and puppeteer. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

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