Author Margaret Atwood has announced that a sequel to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is coming in September 2019, more than 30 years after the original book was published.

Margaret announced the news on Twitter, revealing the book was inspired by fans’ constant questions about how the fictional world of Gilead operates, but also drew heavily from the current political climate.

She wrote: “Everything you’ve ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything!

“The other inspiration is the world we’ve been living in.”

The sequel, titled ‘The Testaments’, will be set 15 years after the original book’s cliffhanger ending, and will be narrated by three undisclosed female characters.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ recently garnered a whole new audience thanks to the TV adaptation based on it, starring Elisabeth Moss in the lead role of June, also known as Offred by those in Gilead.

The show’s first series followed Margaret Atwood’s novel faithfully, apart from a few modern touches to bring the dystopian story into the 21st century, with the author serving as a producer on the show. 

The follow-up series, released earlier this year, continued Margaret’s original story, picking up where the author left off in 1975.

So far, the show has won near-unanimous praise from both critics and viewers, with a host of Emmys to its name, including Outstanding Drama and acting awards for Elisabeth Moss and Ann Dowd, who plays “Aunt Lydia”.

‘The Testaments’ is slated for release in September 2019, while a third series of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is also expected to debut next year.