Margaret Atwood Live Cinema Event Planned For ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel Publication

An interview with The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood will be broadcast globally to more than 1,000 cinemas to mark the Sept. 10 publication of the novel’s long-awaited sequel, The Testaments.

Presented as a live-stream in some venues and tape-delayed in others, Margaret Atwood: Live in Cinemas will originate from London’s National Theatre, where BBC journalist Samira Ahmed will interview the author about her career and her reasons for returning to the Handmaid story after 34 years.

In a statement about the unusual book promotion event, Atwood said, “I am delighted that the launch of The Testaments will take place not only in London on September 10th, but also by live-streaming to over 1,000 cinemas around the world. I can’t be in all the places at once in my analogue body, but I look forward to being with so many readers via the big screen.”

The Handmaid’s Tale was first published in 1985, and in 2017 was adapted into the acclaimed Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss. The Testaments will be published by Penguin Random House on Sept. 10. The live event, produced by Fane Productions, will be broadcast to U.S. theaters the same day via Fathom Event’s Digital Broadcast Network. The event will be presented in partnership with the human rights group Equality Now.

The Testaments picks up 15 years after the first novel’s end and is told through the testaments of three female narrators from Gilead. Atwood has kept mostly quiet about the details, releasing only the cryptic message: “Dear Readers: Everything you’ve ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we’ve been living in.”

Margaret Atwood: Live in Cinemas will be broadcast to theaters in the US, UK and Canada, with delayed screenings planned in Australia and New Zealand. Executive producer is David Sabel.

Watch the trailer for Margaret Atwood: Live in Cinemas above.