Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake introduced readers to a future world where genetic modification is the norm and environmental degradation runs rampant. Her new novel, The Year of the Flood, revisits this world and tells the story of the God’s Gardeners – a religion devoted to the melding of science, religion and nature.

Atwood has penned a semi-dramatic theatrical performance based on The Year of the Flood. She will act as the narrator in each city and, using local actors and choirs to reduce the carbon footprint of the tour, present a one-hour performance that breaks away from a traditional book tour.

The performances in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver will be fundraisers for Nature Canada. Come out to the event in any of these cities and visit us at our table! Here are the venues:

Tuesday, Sept. 22 – Ottawa – 7:00pm at Saint Brigid’s Centre for the Arts and Humanities, presented by Ottawa Writers Festival & Chapters/Indigo – Tickets: http://www.writersfestival.org/ or 613-562-1243

Thursday, Sept. 24 – Toronto – 7:30pm at Saint James Cathedral, 65 Church Street presented by International Festival of Authors and Ben Mcnally Books – Tickets: http://www.readings.org/ or 416-973-4000

Tuesday, Sept. 29 – Calgary – 7:00pm at Knox United Church, 506 4 Street sw presented by Wordfest: Banff- Calgary International Writers Festival — Tickets: http://www.wordfest.com/ or 403-237-9068

Thursday, Oct. 1 – Vancouver – 7:30pm at St. Andrew’s-Wesley Church, 1022 Nelson Street presented by Vancouver Intersnational Writers Festival & Chapters/Indigo – Tickets: http://www.vancouvertix.com/ or 604-629-8849

View Year of the Flood performance venues in a larger map

Donations made to Nature Canada at Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood performances will directly support conservation work at Important Bird Areas throughout Canada.

We are the Canadian co-partner, with Bird Studies Canada, of BirdLife International, a global alliance of conservation organizations working together for the world’s birds and people. As BirdLife in Canada, we deliver the Important Bird Areas Program, which aims to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations. Margaret Atwood is the Joint Honorary President of BirdLife’s Rare Bird Club with her husband, Graeme Gibson.