What is Margaret Atwood’s Net Worth?

Margaret Atwood, a celebrated Canadian author and inventor, boasts a net worth of $10 million. Renowned for her prolific literary career, Atwood has created an extensive array of novels, poetry, short stories, non-fiction works, and children’s books. Her most acclaimed contribution to literature is undoubtedly the 1985 dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In addition to her writing, she demonstrated her inventive prowess by developing the LongPen, a device that facilitates remote robotic writing.

Early Life and Education

Born on November 18, 1939, in Ottawa, Ontario, Margaret Eleanor Atwood was the second of three children born to Margaret, a dietitian and nutritionist, and Carl, an entomologist. Growing up, Atwood’s family frequently moved between Ottawa, Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie, and the wilderness of northern Quebec, where her father conducted forest entomology research. The frequent relocations delayed her formal education, and she did not attend school full-time until she was 12 years old. Despite this, Atwood developed a voracious appetite for reading and eventually graduated from Leaside High School in 1957. She pursued higher education at the University of Toronto’s Victoria College, contributing to the Acta Victoriana literary journal. After earning her BA in English in 1961, she attended Radcliffe College in Massachusetts for her MA, which she completed in 1962, though she left her doctoral studies unfinished.

Books

Atwood’s literary journey began with the self-published poetry collection “Double Persephone” in 1961, followed by “The Circle Game” in 1964, which won the Governor General’s Award. Her debut novel, “The Edible Woman,” arrived in 1969, marking the beginning of a remarkable career in fiction. During the 1970s, Atwood expanded her repertoire, publishing six poetry collections, her first children’s book, a short story collection, several non-fiction works, and novels like “Surfacing,” “Lady Oracle,” and “Life Before Man,” all exploring themes of gender, identity, and politics.

The 1980s saw Atwood’s stature rise further with a succession of poetry and short story collections, non-fiction, and novels. Her seminal work, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” published in 1985, painted a chilling vision of a future where women are subjugated by a patriarchal regime in the United States. This novel received numerous accolades, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Governor General’s Award, and it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her subsequent novel, “Cat’s Eye,” released in 1988, also garnered nominations for prestigious awards.

The 1990s continued Atwood’s success with notable works such as “Wilderness Tips,” “Morning in the Burned House,” “The Robber Bride,” and “Alias Grace,” the latter of which won the Giller Prize. Entering the new millennium, Atwood’s “The Blind Assassin” won the Booker Prize and the Hammett Prize. She launched a dystopian trilogy with “Oryx and Crake” in 2003, followed by “The Year of the Flood” in 2009, and “MaddAddam” in 2013. Her literary endeavors also included the novella “The Penelopiad” and the short story collections “The Tent” and “Moral Disorder.” In 2008, she published the non-fiction “Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth” and began exploring digital formats with e-books. Her creativity extended to a modern Shakespearean retelling with “Hag-Seed” in 2016 and the superhero comic series “Angel Catbird.” Her novel “The Testaments,” a sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” earned her another Booker Prize in 2019.

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Other Published Works and Projects

Atwood’s talents are not confined to the written page; she has contributed screenplays for television films like “The Servant Girl” and “Heaven on Earth,” as well as the anthology series “Snowbird.” Additionally, she penned the libretto for the chamber opera “Pauline,” which premiered in Vancouver in 2014, showcasing her versatility and enduring influence in both literature and the arts.

Beyond her writing, Atwood invented the LongPen, a remote writing device that allows its user to write remotely in ink via a touchscreen device operating a robotic hand. Invented in 2004, it debuted in 2006. Atwood subsequently founded the company Unotchit, later renamed Syngrafii, through which she has developed other remote writing technologies.

Teaching

Atwood has taught at many universities throughout her career. In the 1960s, she lectured at the University of British Columbia and was an instructor at Sir George Williams University and the University of Alberta. Atwood taught at York University and was a writer in residence at the University of Toronto in the early 1970s. She had stints at numerous universities in the 1980s, including the University of Alabama, New York University, and Macquarie University.

Personal Life

Atwood married fellow writer Jim Polk in 1968. They divorced in 1973. Atwood subsequently began a relationship with novelist Graeme Gibson, with whom she had a daughter, Eleanor, in 1976. The couple never married, but remained together until Gibson’s passing in 2019.