Margaret Atwood wins $26K Writer in the World Prize for her impact on literature, art and culture

Margaret Atwood has been honoured with the 2024 Writer inthe World Prize.

The $20,000 U.S. ($26,968.00 Cdn) prizeis awarded annually to a writer "whose work expresses a rare combination of literary talent and moral imagination, helping us to better understand the world and our place in it," according to the Sun Valley Writers' Conference (SVWC)website.

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The Writer in the World Prize began in 2021. Itwas first awarded to American writer Barry Lopez, who is best known for his nature writing and is the author of Arctic Dreams and Of Wolves and Men. The second prize was issued in 2023 to American physician and writer Abraham Verghese, who wrote the memoir My Own Country and the novel Cutting for Stone.

Atwood is the first Canadian to receive this award.

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"Margaret Atwood's lifelong work as a writer and activist marks her as one of the most relevant and influential artists in our culture today," said John Burnham Schwartz, the literary director ofSVWC in a press release. "Her literary imagination and intellectual courage have brought the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of environmentalism to indelible life for millions of readers everywhere, helping to urgently shape our understanding not only of where we have been, but of where we must go."

LISTEN | Margaret Atwood discusses AI, grief and more with Matt Galloway:

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Margaret Atwoods new book, Old Babes in the Wood, is a collection of short stories that may be her most personal work yet. Galloway spoke with her about those old babes, grief and loss, censorship, and whether she thinks artificial intelligence could ever replicate her writing.

Atwood is a celebrated writer who has published fiction, nonfiction, poetry and comics. She began her writing career with poetry, publishingThe Circle Gameand winning the Governor General's Literary Award for poetry in the late 1960s.

She's since published more than a dozen poetrycollections, includingThe Journalsof Susanna Moodiein 1970,Power Politicsin 1971and, most recently,Dearlyin 2020.

She has won several awards for her work including the Governor General's Literary Award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Man Booker Prize.

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She also won the Booker Prize twice, in 2000 forThe Blind Assassinand in 2019 forThe Testaments,the long-awaited sequel toThe Handmaid's Tale.She shared the 2019 prize with British writerBernardine Evaristo. She also won the Giller Prize in 1996 forAlias Grace.

Her other notable books includethe novelsThe Edible Woman,Oryx and Crakeand Cat's Eye,the essay collectionBurning Questionsand the nonfiction workSurvival.

Her most recent book is the short story collection Old Babes in the Woods, which came out in 2023.

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Atwood is also a founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Writers' Trust of Canada.She was named a companion to the Order of Canada in 1981.