Wordfest brings Margaret Atwood back to Calgary for celebration of memoir

Margaret Atwood, pictured in Toronto in 2023, will be in Calgary Dec. 10, 2025, for 'Wordfest Presents Margaret Atwood.' THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Wordfest in Calgary “began with Margaret Atwood—literally,” said event CEO Shelley Youngblut.

Thirty years ago, Youngblut said, the internationally acclaimed author and cultural icon “set the tone for everything that followed.”

Come Dec. 10, Atwood will return.

The Handmaid’s Tale scribe will take the stage at the Jack Singer Concert Hall for Wordfest Presents Margaret Atwood, in celebration of her new memoir—Book of Lives.

“Her new memoir is pure Atwood—smart, wide-ranging, hilarious—and initial interest in this show has been among the most enthusiastic in our history,” Youngblut said.

“We’re expecting a packed house of Atwood superfans.”

Tickets will go on sale Aug. 12 at the Werklund Centre Box Office.

Exclusive pre-sale access is available now through Wordfest.

Owl’s Nest Books will have copies of Atwood’s memoir and other works available for the event, in the lobby.

Book of Lives can also be pre-ordered through Owl’s Nest Books.

But there won’t be a book signing at the event, a release issued on Wednesday noted.

Atwood’s appearance bookends Wordfest’s 30th anniversary celebration, which includes the Imaginarium Festival, Oct. 14-19.

Proceeds from the Atwood event will go to Wordfest’s youth literacy program.