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Salman Rushdie (b1947)
Who?
One of the foremost Anglo-Indian storytellers, he is famed for his sophisticated, lengthy stories, which often draw on myths, fables and religious beliefs.
Must reads
Grimus (1975), Midnight's Children (1981), Shame (1983), The Satanic Verses (1988), Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990), East West (1994), The Moor's Last Sigh (1995) and Fury (2002).
Darkest hour
In 1989, when Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini put a fatwa – death sentence – on his head for the writer's 'blasphemy' against Islam in Satanic Verses.
Greatest triumph
Winning the Booker Prize for Midnight's Children.
Essential quotes
'I was born in the city of Bombay… once upon a time. No, that won't do, there's no getting away from the date: I was born in Doctor Narlikar's Nursing Home on August 15th, 1947. (Midnight's Children)
'To be born again,' sang Gibreel Farishta tumbling from the heavens, 'first you have to die.' (The Satanic Verses)
'A poet's work… To name the unnamable, to pint at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape thee world and stop it from going to sleep.' (The Satanic Verses)
Gossip
Before becoming a full-time writer he worked as an actor and advertising copywriter.
Did u know?
He says he suffered persecution and racist attacks while at school in Rugby, England.
What to say
Salman Rushdie's writing is marked out by the mix of magical realism and satire in his style and is informed by his bilingual, culturally mixed personal history.
Don't say
There's nothing fishy about Salman.
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