Fans of Margaret Atwood's writing are unlikely to read one of her upcoming works in this lifetime.
The award-winning author of the "MaddAddam" trilogy is the first to join Future Library, a century-long project being coordinated by Scottish artist Katie Paterson.
As part of the initiative, 1,000 trees were planted in Nordmarka, a forest close to Oslo, Norway. They will grow until 2114, when they supply paper for an anthology of texts submitted by one writer every year for 100 years.
"We're growing a book, effectively, over 100 years," Paterson said in a video introducing the project.
Atwood told The Guardian that Future Library is "the kind of thing you either immediately say yes or no to."
"I think it goes right back to that phase of our childhood when we used to bury little things in the backyard, hoping that someone would dig them up, long in the future," she said.
The author said that readers in 2114 might need a "paleo-anthropologist" to translate some of the texts, as language could evolve in the intervening years.
Atwood wouldn't reveal what she was writing about.
"It's part of the contract you can't tell anybody what you're writing," she said.
"But I will say that I've bought some special archival paper, which will not decay in its sealed box over 100 years."
News of the project comes as Atwood prepares to release "Stone Mattress," a collection of nine short stories next week.
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