Margaret Atwood Statistics

As of late 2018, Margaret Atwood’s most popular novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, had sold 8 million copies in English since its 1985 publication.
As a protest to increased burning and banning of books, a fireproof version of The Handmaid’s Tale (banned multiple times) sold for $130,000 in 2022, with proceeds going towards the support of free expression.
Atwood sold the rights of The Handmaid’s Tale to MGM for a film adaptation (1990) which had a budget of $13 million and grossed just $4.96 million worldwide.
Later, rights were resold from MGM to Hulu to create the hit TV series launched in 2017, meaning Atwood would not receive any further rights money.
Although she was brought on as an executive consultant for the series, the money she received for the role was not significant.
However, she noted that her book sales had since increased.
Its sequel, The Testaments, broke Penguin Random House’s record for the highest first-day sales out of their 2019 titles.
Although 500,000 copies were initially pressed, they returned to produce more copies two additional times in just over a week following its release.
As of 2023, Margaret Atwood has published 17 novels alongside various other book types.
Many sources have estimated that her vast collection of works has amassed her a net worth in excess of $20 million.

Margaret Atwood books in order

As of 2023, Margaret Atwood has published 17 novels.
This is without including Scribbler Moon which will be published in 2114 as part of the Future Library Project.
The first novel she ever published was The Edible Woman (1969).
As of 2023, her most recently published novel is The Testaments (2019).
She has also produced*:
- 11 works of short fiction.
- 6 ebooks.
- 7 children’s books.
- 12 works of non-fiction.
- 6 graphic novel issues.
- 21 poetry collections.

(*Excluding non-book works such as anthologies as an editor, drawings, television scripts, libretti and audio recordings.)

Novels

Year published	Title	Type	Page count	Audiobook length
1969	The Edible Woman	Novel	310	9h 37m
1972	Surfacing	Novel	199	6h 59m
1976	Lady Oracle	Novel	346	11h 13m
1979	Life Before Man	Novel	361	11h 53m
1981	Bodily Harm	Novel	291	10h 5m
1985	The Handmaid’s Tale	Novel	314	11h 1m
1988	Cat’s Eye	Novel	462	16h 31m
1993	The Robber Bride	Novel	528	20h 12m
1996	Alias Grace	Novel	468	15h 57m
2000	The Blind Assassin	Novel	637	18h 27m
2003	Oryx and Crake	Novel	389	10h 30m
2005	The Penelopiad	Novel	198	3h 20m
2009	The Year of the Flood	Novel	431	14h 4m
2013	MaddAddam	Novel	394	13h 24m
2015	The Heart Goes Last	Novel	320	12h 11m
2016	Hag-Seed	Novel	301	8h 11m
2019	The Testaments	Novel	422	13h 18m

Short fiction

Year published	Title	Type	Page count
1977	Dancing Girls	Short fiction	243
1983	Murder in the Dark	Short fiction	112
1983	Bluebeard’s Egg	Short fiction	244
1991	Wilderness Tips	Short fiction	228
1992	Good Bones	Short fiction	153
1994	Good Bones and Simple Murders	Short fiction	165
1996	The Labrador Fiasco	Short fiction	41
2006	The Tent	Short fiction	159
2006	Moral Disorder	Short fiction	240
2014	Stone Mattress	Short fiction	273
2023	Old Babes in the Wood	Short fiction	272

Ebooks

Year published	Title	Type	Page count
2012	I’m Starved For You: Positron, Episode One	Ebook	52
2012	Choke Collar: Positron, Episode Two	Ebook	51
2013	Erase Me: Positron, Episode Three	Ebook	53
2013	The Heart Goes Last: Positron, Episode Four	Ebook	64
2013	The Happy Zombie Sunrise Home	Ebook	N/A
2022	My Evil Mother	Ebook	32

Children’s books

Year published	Title	Type	Page count
1978	Up in the Tree	Children’s book	32
1980	Anna’s Pet	Children’s book	32
1990	For the Birds	Children’s book	54
1995	Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut	Children’s book	32
2003	Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes	Children’s book	32
2006	Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda	Children’s book	32
2011	Wandering Wenda and Widow Wallop’s Wunderground Washery	Children’s book	28

Non-fiction

Year published	Title	Type	Page count
1972	Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature	Non-fiction	320
1977	Days of the Rebels	Non-fiction	128
1982	Second Words: Selected Critical Prose	Non-fiction	444
1986	Through the One-Way Mirror	Non-fiction	3
1995	Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature	Non-fiction	136
2002	Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing	Non-fiction	198
2004	Moving Targets: Writing with Intent, 1982–2004	Non-fiction	440
2005	Writing with Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose 1983–2005	Non-fiction	427
2008	Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth	Non-fiction	203
2011	In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination	Non-fiction	274
2015	On Writers and Writing	Non-fiction	256
2022	Burning Questions: Essays & Occasional Pieces 2004-2021	Non-fiction	496

Graphic novels

Year published	Title	Type	Page count
2016	Angel Catbird, Vol. 1	Graphic novel	80
2017	Angel Catbird, Volume 2: To Castle Catula	Graphic novel	102
2017	Angel Catbird, Volume 3: The Catbird Roars	Graphic novel	104
2018	War Bears #1	Graphic novel	32
2018	War Bears #2	Graphic novel	32
2018	War Bears #3	Graphic novel	32

Poetry Collections

Year published	Title	Type	Page count
1961	Double Persephone	Poetry collection	16
1964	The Circle Game	Poetry collection	99
1965	Expeditions	Poetry collection	N/A
1966	Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein	Poetry collection	45
1968	The Animals in That Country	Poetry collection	69
1970	The Journals of Susanna Moodie	Poetry collection	80
1970	Procedures for Underground	Poetry collection	79
1971	Power Politics	Poetry collection	62
1974	You Are Happy	Poetry collection	96
1976	Selected Poems	Poetry collection	N/A
1978	Two-Headed Poems	Poetry collection	115
1981	True Stories	Poetry collection	103
1983	Love Songs of a Terminator	Poetry collection	N/A
1983	Snake Poems	Poetry collection	16
1984	Interlunar	Poetry collection	103
1986	Selected Poems II: 1976–1986	Poetry collection	160
1990	Selected Poems 1966–1984	Poetry collection	320
1995	Morning in the Burned House	Poetry collection	127
1998	Eating Fire: Selected Poems, 1965–1995	Poetry collection	384
2007	The Door	Poetry collection	132
2020	Dearly	Poetry collection	124

The Handmaid’s Tale popularity over time

As of 2023, The Handmaid’s Tale’s maximum popularity is 3.25 times lower than the previous year.
Since the release of The Handmaid’s Tale TV series on Hulu, its overall popularity* has soared.
Its maximum popularity jumped 18.50 times higher than in 2016 after its first season in 2017.
For the given data, The Handmaid’s Tale was at its most popular during 2019.
Overall, its popularity has continued to remain at higher levels than those seen prior to the release of the TV series.

Year	Average popularity	Max. popularity
2016	1.50	2.00
2017	15.92	37.00
2018	28.00	69.00
2019	33.17	100.00
2020	14.25	24.00
2021	16.67	44.00
2022	12.25	26.00
2023	6.50	8.00

A graph is given below to show the popularity of The Handmaid’s Tale over time:

*Popularity data from Google trends

Margaret Atwood FAQ

How many books has Margaret Atwood written?

As of 2023, Margaret Atwood has written 80 books (including novels, short fiction, ebooks, children’s books, non-fiction works, graphic novels and poetry collections).
This number includes the novel Scribbler Moon which will be published in 2114 but excludes the non-fiction work Through the One-Way Mirror which was an article.

When did Margaret Atwood write The Handmaid’s Tale?

Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985.

Why did Margaret Atwood write The Handmaid’s Tale?

The Handmaid’s Tale was written by Margaret Atwood as a cautionary story on the effects of extreme religious beliefs and the worsening of human rights for women.
When writing the book, she drew inspiration from historical events and trends in society in order to demonstrate the importance of standing up for individual freedoms.

Where is The Handmaid’s Tale set?

The Handmaid’s Tale is mostly set within Boston, in an area that was previously Cambridge, Massachusetts.
However, the storyline also expands to other regions within Gilead (which is The Handmaid’s Tale’s dystopian society) that encompasses a major area which was formerly part of the United States.

What is The Handmaid’s Tale about?

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel about a dystopian society in which women are suppressed and their reproductive roles are seen as a principal duty.
The story revolves around a handmaid called Offred as she tries to navigate her way out of Gilead’s oppressive regime, in which she has little chance of breaking free.

What are the colonies in The Handmaid’s Tale?

The colonies in The Handmaid’s Tale are radioactive and heavily polluted zones where the regime’s most undervalued individuals are sent in order to perform dangerous labor in the face of death.
They are used as a method of punishment in order to prevent the most politically and socially rebellious individuals under Gilead’s regime from gaining influence.

What is an Eye in The Handmaid’s Tale?

An Eye in The Handmaid’s Tale is another word for a member of Gilead’s secret police force.
Eyes are known for strictly enforcing the regime’s rules through fear and/or intimidation. They also perform general surveillance and are responsible for reporting dissent and rebellion.

What is Oryx and Crake about?

Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake is about a post-apocalyptic world that is devastated by bio-engineered plagues and destruction to the environment.
The last human survivor within the story, Snowman, reflects on the past and the events that led to the collapse of civilization for humans.