Salman Rushdie

Born

19 June 1947, Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India)

Nationality

British (originally Indian)

Profession(s)

Author, Essayist

Early Life and Education

• Born into a Kashmiri Muslim family in Bombay.
• Educated at Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay.
• Attended Rugby School in England.
• Graduated from King's College, Cambridge, with a degree in History.

Career and Major Achievements

• Worked as a copywriter for advertising agencies before becoming a full-time writer.
• Gained international recognition with his second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), which won the Booker Prize.
• His novel The Satanic Verses (1988) sparked considerable controversy and death threats.
• Has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Booker Prize (Best of the Booker), Whitbread Novel Award, and the European Union Prize for Literature.
• His experience of living under threat is detailed in Joseph Anton: A Memoir Autobiography, offering a personal insight into his life during that turbulent period.

Notable Works

• Grimus (1975)
• Midnight's Children (1981)
• Shame (1983)
• The Satanic Verses (1988)
• Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990)
• The Moor's Last Sigh (1995)
• The Ground Beneath Her Feet (1999)
• Fury (2001)
• Shalimar the Clown (2005)
• The Enchantress of Florence (2008)
• Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights (2015)
• The Golden House (2017)
• Quichotte (2019)
• Victory City (2023)
• Memoir: Joseph Anton: A Memoir (2012)

Awards and Honors

Legacy and Impact

Salman Rushdie is a highly influential figure in contemporary literature, known for his magical realism and exploration of themes such as migration, identity, and the clash of cultures. His work has had a significant impact on postcolonial literature and continues to be widely read and studied. He is lauded for his courage and advocacy for freedom of expression.

Related links