Author of more than 40 books and an environmental activist, she will be presented PEN Center USA’s lifetime achievement award at its annual dinner in October. The task she gave herself in writing “The Handmaid’s Tale” was more literal — and bold: “If you were going to have a totalitarian dictatorship in the United States, what would it look like?”George Kraychyk / Hulu From Hulu's television adaptation of "The Handmaid's Tale." From Hulu's television adaptation of "The Handmaid's Tale." In Austin, Texas, abortion rights activists dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale" protest bills that would change abortion law. Still, she notes an organization called Out of Print that sells a “banned book scarf” adorned with banned book titles — including “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Atwood owns one and is “proud to be on it,” she says.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 12, 2017 15:56 UTC