Margaret Atwood: The Year of the Flood November 6, 2009

Acclaimed author Margaret Atwood will present a 70-minute dramatic reading from her new novel, "The Year of the Flood," backed by a troupe of actors and a choir, at DePaul University Nov. 6. Hosted by DePaul’s English department, the innovative book-launch event will be staged at the DePaul’s Merle Reskin Theatre.

The only Midwest stop on the 10-city American leg of Atwood’s international book tour will feature the celebrated Canadian author narrating scenes, which will be performed by local actors, from her long-awaited 13th novel. The post-apocalyptic tale focuses on God’s Gardeners, a small group of survivors of a man-made environmental disaster depicted in an earlier Atwood novel, "Oryx and Crake." Isolated in a corrupt, menacing dystopia, where gene-spliced life forms proliferate, God’s Gardeners try to reconcile religion, science and nature, and express their beliefs in hymns. Atwood and California singer-songwriter Orville Stoeber partnered to compose lyrics and music for these hymns, which will be performed live by a choir at the event (and are available on the CD, "Hymns of the God’s Gardeners"). A book-signing by the Booker Prize-winning author will follow the performance.

For Margaret Atwood's "Year of the Flood" blog and book tour Web site, go to: www.yearoftheflood.com/us/

Official Website: http://las.depaul.edu/english/About/NewsandEvents/atwoodEvent.asp