Siddhartha asked Margaret Atwood:

Hello! You have received critical acclaim and commercial success in equal measures. But how important is a book's so-called "commercial" appeal to you? This may not be very important to you now, but was it something you considered when you started writing?

Margaret Atwood Hello: It was very far from my thoughts when I began. That was in Canada in the late 50s and early 60s, and none of the writers I knew had the expectation of commercial success. We made jokes about it, but we didn't think we could really do it. I have been more than a little surprised by the unexpected success of some of my wilder ventures. I have never been able to anticipate anyway what "the reader" will like. "The reader" is not homogenous, like cream cheese. "The reader" is always one, singular - an individual. So I try to take care of my books, and have to trust that the readers will make their own choices. I can't set out to flatter and seduce them!

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"The Handmaid's Tale" is one of my all-time favorite books, and I was wondering- where do you come up with the inspiration for all the dystopian fiction you write?

Imen Diamond asked Margaret Atwood:

Personally ,i first got introduced to the Canadian Literature through you Madam ,and through Alice Munro as well,there are only a handful of canadian writers known in the world today,why is that ? what hinders Canadian Literature from getting an international acclaim,as that of the American and British Literatures ? when will Candian literature be taken seriously?! Thank you so much :)

Lavi asked Margaret Atwood:

I absolutely adore your work. It is inspiring, intellectual, profoundly disturbing in the best ways and your female characters are so real, so strong, so rare in literature today. Where do you find your muse? How do you balance such amazing, intricate stories?

All answers from Margaret Atwood…

Margaret Atwood

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Hello! You have received critical acclaim and commercial success in equal measures. But how important is a book's so-called "commercial" appeal to you? This may not be very important to you now, but was it something you considered when you started writing?

More Answered Questions

"The Handmaid's Tale" is one of my all-time favorite books, and I was wondering- where do you come up with the inspiration for all the dystopian fiction you write?

I absolutely adore your work. It is inspiring, intellectual, profoundly disturbing in the best ways and your female characters are so real, so strong, so rare in literature today. Where do you find your muse? How do you balance such amazing, intricate stories?

About Goodreads Q&A