Margaret Atwood to Speak at ABA Day of Education

Bestselling and award-winning author Margaret Atwood will be a featured plenary speaker at ABA’s Day of Education , on Monday, May 23, at BookExpo America (BEA). The hour-long event will begin at 3:00 p.m. and will be open to all BEA badged attendees.

“We could not be more excited that Margaret Atwood will be speaking at this year’s Day of Education, and we’re very grateful to her and to Nan A. Talese/Doubleday,” said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. “Her keynote talk at this year’s Tools of Change conference – and her comments in March at the World Book Night event in Trafalgar Square – were insightful, engrossing, and illuminating. Booksellers will very much be looking forward to hearing her thoughts on the ongoing changes in our industry, especially on the role of writers, and their special relationship with indie bookstores.”

The featured event with Atwood will follow a full day of educational programming aimed at ABA bookstore members and open to all badged BEA attendees. The Day of Education is sponsored by the Ingram Content Group.

Reporting on her TOC keynote in February, Publishers Weekly noted that “the audience welcomed Atwood like a breath of literary fresh air” as she gave a “measured – and entertaining – perspective” on the changing roles of authors and publishers in the 21st century. No stranger to social media, following her TOC keynote, Atwood tweeted, “Had way too much fun at #TOC this morning. Had to take nap afterwards. TX for the Tweetorama, #TOC T-Pals who were there!”

Atwood is the author of more than 40 books – novels, short stories, poetry, literary criticism, social history, and books for children. Her work is acclaimed internationally and has been published around the world. Her novels include The Handmaid’s Tale and Cat’s Eye – both shortlisted for the Booker Prize; The Robber Bride, winner of the Trillium Book Award and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award; Alias Grace, winner of the prestigious Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy, and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; The Blind Assassin, winner of the Booker Prize and a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; and Oryx and Crake, a finalist for The Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award, the Orange Prize, and the Man Booker Prize.

Her most recent books of fiction are The Year of the Flood, The Penelopiad, The Tent, and Moral Disorder. Her upcoming book, In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination, her account of her relationship with the literary form we have come to know as science fiction, will be published in October by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday. Atwood is the recipient of numerous honours, such as The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence in the U.K., the National Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature in the U.S., Le Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, and she was the first winner of the London Literary Prize. She has received honorary degrees from universities across Canada, and one from Oxford University in England.

BookExpo America 2011 will be held from Monday, May 23 - Thursday, May 26, at New York City’s Javits Convention Center. For more information about BEA, visit BookExpoAmerica.com; for information about ABA programming and the official ABA hotel at BEA, visit BookWeb.org.

All ABA Regular Bookstore and Provisional members are eligible for a number of free badges for admission to BEA 2011.