Salman Rushdie

Ahmed Salman Rushdie, better known as Salman Rushdie, is a British Indian author of literary fiction, most notably known for the controversy surrounding his novel "The Satanic Verses." Rushdie was born in Mumbai, India, in 1947, to a schoolteacher mother and a wealthy merchant father. He received his early education at a prestigious private school in Bombay before being sent to The Rugby School in Warwickshire, England. He pursued higher education at the King's College of the University of Cambridge, where he studied history.

Rushdie's career as a writer began in the 1970s when he moved back to England after a brief stint in Pakistan. He worked as an advertising copywriter before publishing his first novel "Grimus" in 1975. Over the years, Rushdie has received numerous accolades for his writing. He is a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2007 for his services to literature. Some of his most notable works include "Midnight's Children," which won the Booker Prize, and "The Moor's Last Sigh."

The publication of "The Satanic Verses" in 1988 led to violent protests from Muslims in several countries, resulting in death threats and a fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, which called for Rushdie's execution. This forced him to live in hiding for nearly a decade, appearing in public only sporadically. In 2007, Rushdie was appointed a Knight Bachelor for his contributions to literature, and he served as the Distinguished Writer in Residence at Emory University from 2007 to 2012.

Rushdie's works often reflect his experiences growing up in India and Pakistan and his migration to England. His writing style is classified as magical realism, and his themes explore the connections, disruptions, and migrations between the Eastern and Western worlds. In addition to his novels and non-fiction works, Rushdie has also published short stories and served as a co-editor for "The Vintage Book of Short Stories."