The first book in the Maddadam trilogy, Oryx and Crake, is published. The book is a work of dystopian fiction, taking place after an apocalyptic event that leaves the world barely populated. Describing the novel, Atwood says

I do frighten myself, but a) it’s fiction, and b) nothing can be predicted, because there are too many variables. So I’m looking at possible futures, not inevitable ones.