Margaret Atwood: All futures are possible

Even credits a gift that anticipates 30 years before the election of Donald Trump and its consequences for American women in her dystopian novel. The scarlet maidCanadian writer Margaret Atwood does not believe that our collective future is already decided.

• Also read: Final day of the book fair: Margaret Atwood meets the audience

“The future does not exist,” I felt the need to reminisce this afternoon, during an audience interview with novelist Marie Laberge, at the Capitol Theater in Quebec.

The last six writers to participate in Auteur.e Studio’s literary encounter series at the Salon international du livre de Québec (SILQ), after Marc Levy, Amelie Nothombe, Janet Bertrand, Patrick Sencal and Nancy Huston, the 83-year-old Canadian author prefers to see the future with hope.

“Many futures are possible. As writers, we can explore one or two of these futures, but nothing is fixed.”

profitable election

Speaking in French, prof.^I Atwood said she was told by a Hollywood producer that she was the only person who benefited from Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

She said he was right. She points out that the TV series is an adaptation The scarlet maid It went live in 2017, tapping into Trump’s rise to power and the protest movements of American women.

“Had Hillary Clinton been elected, it would have been seen as a fantasy, something that has already been done,” Margaret Atwood weighs in.

74,000 visitors

visit m.^I Atwood concluded on a high note for the 2023 Book Fair which its Managing Director, Daniel Gylinas, described as stunning. Over the past five days, 74,000 people have visited Wired Publishers’ booths at the Quebec Convention Center. That’s 4,000 more than in 2022.

“There is a book facility that fascinates me. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 17,000 schoolchildren passed by and were buying books. Despite tablets, phones and digital books, the subject of the book is still popular, ”rejoices Mr. Gelinas.

The organizers also say they are satisfied with the attendance of Auteur.e Studio, with 15% of the spectators coming from outside the Quebec region.

“We’ve become a destination,” notes the gallery’s chairwoman, Rhonda Rio.