TORONTO -- Canadian literary legend Margaret Atwood is releasing a new collection of essays on subjects spanning geopolitical upheaval to the definition of granola.

“Burning Questions: Essays 2004 - 2021” is set to be published next spring.

McClelland & Stewart says the book contains more than 50 new pieces tackling many defining issues of the modern era including the 2008 financial crash, the climate crisis and the rise of former U.S. president Donald Trump.

The publisher says Atwood applies her incisive wit to questions surrounding the universality of storytelling, the nature of truth and fairness and the relationship between zombies and authoritarianism.

Atwood says in a statement that “many of the questions that have been smouldering for decades have now burst into flames. Unless we can answer them, quickly and effectively, so will we.”

The book hits shelves on March 1, 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2021.