The launch of the much-anticipated sequel to The Handmaid's Tale by author Margaret Atwood is set to be screened live in cinemas across the county next month.

Fane Productions presents Margaret Atwood live on stage and in cinemas on Tuesday, September 10, marking the publication of The Testaments, Atwood’s sequel to her seminal work, The Handmaid’s Tale, which was published in 1985.

The momentous literary event includes the chance to hear the novel's opening, read by Margaret herself, for the first time.

Margaret Atwood: Live in Cinemas will be filmed live on the Lyttelton stage of the National Theatre in London, with broadcaster and author Samira Ahmed interviewing the author about her career, her work and why she has returned to her handmaid story, 34 after it was published.

Margaret said: "I am delighted that the launch of The Testaments will take place not only in London, but also by live-streaming to over 1,000 cinemas around the world. I can’t be in all the places at once in my analogue body, but I look forward to being with so many readers via the big screen."

The Handmaid’s Tale book and its current, Emmy Award-winning TV series, being screened on Channel 4, have created a cultural phenomenon. Handmaids have become a symbol of women’s rights and a protest against misogyny and oppression.

In her sequel, the acclaimed author picks up the story 15 years after the central character, Offred, stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

She has written more than 50 books, including Cat's Eye and The Blind Assassin, but The Handmaid's Tale went back into the bestseller charts following the election of Donald Trump and the TV series.

Margaret Atwood The Testaments will be published by Chatto & Windus, an imprint of VINTAGE, on Tuesday, September 10. It will first be available at a midnight opening at Waterstones Piccadilly.

The screening will be broadcast at 15 cinemas across the county in Bluewater, Ashford, Herne Bay, Gravesend, Rochester, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Dover.

Book your tickets and find your nearest showing at margaretatwoodlive.com.

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