Margaret Atwood, author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” will be awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award for Bravery in Literature at the Poughkeepsie’s Bardavon 1869 Opera House in October.
Atwood will also be interviewed on stage.
Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel was adapted for a television drama series starring Elisabeth Moss, which aired its sixth and final season on Hulu in spring 2025.
Taking place during Banned Books Week 2025, from Oct. 5-11, the annual Eleanor Roosevelt Center award ceremony illuminates the freedom to read and the censorship of books, while celebrating others who combat book censorship and advocate for intellectual freedom.
The Oct. 11 ceremony will also feature award co-presenter PEN America — established in 1922, the group documents the number of banned books in public schools. PEN America President Jennifer Finney Boylan will give the keynote speech.
Another award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Literary Freedom Award, will be given to Texas librarian and freedom-to-read advocate, Becky Calzada.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery recipients, who have created works banned by local municipalities, governments or school boards, include:
The honorees’ books will also be available for purchase, courtesy of Oblong Books.
Tickets for the awards ceremony go on sale July 24 and can be purchased at the Bardavon Box Office on Market Street in Poughkeepsie or online through Ticketmaster. A member presale will be held July 22-23.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ author Margaret Atwood to receive Eleanor Roosevelt award at Bardavon
Reporting by Nickie Hayes, Poughkeepsie Journal / Poughkeepsie Journal
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