"The Handmaid's Tale" Author Joins Adventure Canada for Arctic Expedition

Adventure Canada, leading provider of small-ship and land-based expeditions to the world’s wildest destinations, is thrilled to announce that Canadian icon Margaret Atwood will be joining this year’s Heart of the Arctic expedition. Traveling from the capital of Nunavut, south into Quebec’s Nunavik region, and across the Davis Strait to the coast of Greenland, Atwood and fellow guests will cross the Arctic Circle just after the summer solstice, when the midnight sun will be near its zenith. The expedition will seek out fascinating marine wildlife, including polar bears, walrus, and muskoxen. The July 18th sailing will be Atwood’s fourteenth expedition with Adventure Canada, having first traveled with the award-winning company in 2001.

Atwood, whose classic novel The Handmaid's Tale is enjoying a resurgence thanks to the recent TV adaptation released on Hulu, is the author of more than forty books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. Her latest book of short stories is Stone Mattress: Nine Tales (2014)—the title was inspired by Atwood’s experience aboard an Adventure Canada expedition and includes a short story about a long-ago crime that’s avenged in the Arctic via a 1.9 billion-year-old stromatolite. As a special guest aboard the expedition this summer, Atwood will offer some special readings and enjoy time exploring the Arctic with her family. Heart of the Arctic begins in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, which is featured in The Handmaid’s Tale as the futuristic setting hosting a historical convention, revealing mysterious findings from Atwood’s fictional dystopia.

“There’s nothing quite like Adventure Canada. Really nothing. That must be why their expeditions attract so many multi-trippers: the experience they offer is profound, but also entertaining,” says Atwood. “Adventure Canada takes its subject matter seriously, but not themselves. That, to me, is deeply Canadian: we don’t suffer stuffed shirts gladly.”

Joining Atwood on the Heart of the Arctic are a number of other special guests, including filmmaker and musician, Les Stroud (of Survivorman fame), artist Rob Saley, archaeologist Lisa Rankin, as well as culturalist and filmmaker Myna Ishulutak, all of whom are luminary minds in their respective fields and share a deep love for discovery and learning.

For more information about sailing with Atwood and Adventure Canada’s Heart of the Arctic expedition, visit adventurecanada.com or call 1-800-363-7566.