Margaret Atwood adds German literary Peace Prize to international accolades

TORONTO – Margaret Atwood has been awarded the German book trade’s Peace Prize.

The German Publishers and Booksellers Association says it picked the Canadian author, poet and essayist for her “keen political intuition and a deeply perceptive ability to detect dangerous and underlying developments and tendencies.”

The honour includes a $37,000 prize (€25,000 euros).

And it comes as the 77-year-old novelist is riding a wave of newfound fame amid renewed interest in her prescient 1985 novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

The dystopian novel about a totalitarian society is now an acclaimed TV series starring Elisabeth Moss.

Earlier this year, Atwood received the National Book Critics Circle lifetime achievement award, won the Franz Kafka Prize and was presented Pen Center USA’s lifetime achievement award.

The German award ceremony will take place Oct. 15, the final day of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

“As one of the most important storytellers of our era, Atwood fearlessly probes shifting patterns of thought and behaviour in both her utopian and dystopian works,” states the literary group.

“By precisely observing the contradictions of human nature, she shows how easily our alleged norms can deviate towards the inhumane. Humanity, justice and tolerance are the unvarying characteristics of Atwood’s work.”