
Always Take Notes #228: Salman Rushdie, novelist
Simon and Rachel speak to the novelist Salman Rushdie, whose 17 works of fiction have been translated into over 40 languages. Salman's novels include include "Midnight’s Children" – for which he won the Booker Prize in 1981, the Booker of Bookers on the 25th anniversary of the prize, and Best of the Booker on the 40th anniversary – "Shame", "The Satanic Verses" and "The Ground Beneath her Feet". He has also written five works of non-fiction, including a memoir, "Joseph Anton", about living under a fatwa imposed in 1989 by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in response to "The Satanic Verses", and "Knife", his meditation after he was attacked on stage while giving a lecture in the US in 2022. We spoke to Salman about returning to writing after the 2022 attack, his earlier experience living under the fatwa, and his new collection of stories, "The Eleventh Hour".
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A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via Amazon or Waterstones.
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