There's A Margaret Atwood Novel You Can Never Read

As the kickoff of the 100-year Future Library Project, which invites a different author to place a secret book in a time capsule each year until the vessel is opened in 2114, author Margaret Atwood time-capsuled her novel in a ceremony held Tuesday morning in Oslo, Norway. And, no, that means you'll never, ever be able to read it. I suppose it's only fitting that the lady best known for her speculative fiction be the first author to place her newest novel into a time capsule — but, regardless, I have an itch-you-can't-scratch feeling. I know you know what I'm talking about.

OK, there is some slight comfort to be had by those readers who truly can't bare to be left out of anything. Although you won't be able to get your hands on a copy of this tantalizingly unrevealed manuscript (seriously, NEVER) you can still watch footage of Atwood locking away the novel until the next century.

After kicking off the ceremony by presenting her book to project-founder Katie Paterson, and walking through the 1,000-tree forest that will be used to print copies of the capsuled books in the future, Atwood also gave a public reading. The ceremony concluded in Oslo's Deichmanske Library, with an in-conversation event hosted by Atwood and Paterson.

The bestselling author of beloved classics like The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin, shared some words with her fans on Wattpad, days before the momentous ceremony:

There’s a secret book that no one will read for 100 years. It is a book from the future, so it hasn’t been published yet. It is kept in a locked room, in a Norwegian library. There is a sacred grove that will provide the paper for its pages. And there are 100 authors who will write its secret stories. 100 years. 100 stories. 100 different writers.

There's no word yet on who next year's author will be, but the decision is currently up to the Future Library Trust, an organization of some of the world's top publishers and editors. So, one thing is for certain: whomever it is, you'll probably be mad about not being able to read his or her book, either.