An investigation into horrid and near-horrid literary futures, beginning with Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, and continuing with a romp through various unsanitary corners of times to come, including the Zombie Apocalypse. Why now, and what next?

Margaret Atwood is the author of numerous volumes of poetry and novels, including The Edible Woman, The Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Eye, and most recently, The Year of the Flood.