Distinguished Thinkers at the Newhouse Center: Salman Rushdie

Sir Salman Rushdie is one of the most celebrated authors of our time. A brilliant provocateur, he has penned a handful of classic novels, influenced a generation of writers, and received a Queen’s Knighthood for “services to literature.” He stands as both a pop culture icon and one of the most thought-provoking proponents for free speech today.

An eclectic writer and noted public intellectual, Salman Rushdie has won many of the world’s top literary prizes. His novels include The Satanic Verses, The Moor’s Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet and The Enchantress of Florence. For Rushdie’s masterwork of magic realism, Midnight’s Children, he won the prestigious Booker Prize, and later, the Best of the Booker. He is also the author of bestselling memoir Joseph Anton.  His newest novel, published in September 2015, is Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.  He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007, and has served as President of the PEN American Center.

The Distinguished Writers Series reminds us that reading, writing, conversation, and laughter are related arts. The Newhouse Center venue is intimate and the format is simple: The writers read, have a conversation with a faculty member, and then engage in an open dialogue with the audience.