Contents
Salman Rushdie
Writing Midnight’s Children and becoming a prominent figure in debates over literary freedom.
Midnight’s Children · The Satanic Verses
- Born
- 19 June 1947
- Birthplace
- Mumbai, India
More people
Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born novelist whose fiction combines history, migration, satire and fantastical storytelling.
Early life
Bombay childhood
Grew up in the city now called Mumbai.
Education
Attended Rugby School and studied history at Cambridge.
Career
- 1970s
Advertising and fiction
Worked in advertising while writing.
- 1981
Midnight’s Children
Won the Booker Prize and established an international reputation.
- 1988 onward
Controversy and continued writing
The Satanic Verses brought death threats; he continued publishing through years of danger.
Selected books
Midnight’s Children
Linked one life with the history of independent India.
The Satanic Verses
A novel about migration, transformation and belief.
Knife
Reflected on surviving a violent attack in 2022.
Beyond writing
Free expression
Has advocated for writers facing censorship.
Public life
His work and security became subjects of sustained international debate.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Elena Ternovaja. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
