We're all familiar with the stereotype of the tech-shy older author, suspicious of ebooks and self-publishing, who has to be cajoled on to Twitter by their publicist. This couldn't be more unfair than in the case of Margaret Atwood, who has established herself as literature's digital doyenne.

The Booker prizewinner, who has more than 400,000 Twitter followers, gets stuck into every technological initiative going, from co-writing a zombie novel with Naomi Alderman on Wattpad to changing the way artists interact with their fans online through her new company Fanado. Anyone who's familiar with Atwood's work won't be surprised by her openness to change, but her zeal is astounding.

Another of Atwood's projects is a serial novel called Positron, the fourth part of which, The Heart Goes Last, has just appeared. The first instalment, I'm Starved for You, was published last March. A dystopian fable set in the near future, Positron imagines America has come up with a drastic solution to unemployment, housing shortages and prison overcrowding: herd citizens into prison colonies where they take it in turns to be the prisoners and jailers.

Morally provocative and darkly funny with plenty of sex (including some fashionable sadomasochism), the series will be lapped up by fans of The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake. I'm enjoying it immensely, though I'm not sure the publishing format quite works. Kindle Serials consciously echo television, with readers encouraged to discuss each new "episode" online. But now we're used to gorging on box sets, having to wait several months for the next part of a story is frustrating. Serials should be weekly at the very least, otherwise why not just publish it all at once?

Margaret Atwood's Positron is published by Byliner and available on Kindle, Nook etc