Salman Rushdie to Receive National Book Award Medal for Lifetime Achievement in US
Author to be honoured for distinguished contribution to American letters at November 18 ceremony in Manhattan
NEW YORK, Sept 10: Acclaimed author Salman Rushdie is set to receive a National Book Award medal recognising his lifetime contribution to American literature, an honour bestowed on leading figures in the country’s literary community.
Rushdie, who became a US citizen about a decade ago after spending many years in the country, said the recognition carries a special meaning for him and deepens his sense of belonging to American literary life.
The 79-year-old writer, born in Mumbai and raised partly in England after emigrating there as a teenager, now lives in New York City with his wife, author Rachel Eliza Griffiths.
Longtime friend and fellow author Kiran Desai will present Rushdie with the medal during the National Book Awards ceremony in Manhattan on November 18. The event will also feature awards across five competitive categories.
Rushdie will become the 39th recipient of the National Book Foundation’s Distinguished Contribution to American Letters award. He is only the fourth recipient born outside the United States, following Saul Bellow, Isabel Allende and Art Spiegelman.
The foundation praised Rushdie’s extensive body of work, describing his writing as a testament to literature’s ability to connect people across borders, generations and identities.
Rushdie has published more than 20 books, including the Booker Prize-winning novel Midnight’s Children, widely regarded as a landmark work of contemporary literature. His writing has frequently explored themes of migration, identity, politics, culture and the complexities of life across different societies.
His 1988 novel The Satanic Verses became one of the most controversial books of the modern era. References in the novel to the Prophet Muhammad triggered protests in several countries, while Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death.
After years of living under security threats, Rushdie was attacked on stage at a literary festival in western New York in 2022. He was stabbed multiple times in the assault.
The attacker, Hadi Matar, was subsequently convicted by a state jury of attempted murder. A federal jury later found him guilty of charges including transnational terrorism and providing material support to Hezbollah.
Rushdie later chronicled the attack and its aftermath in his memoir Knife. He has also published the story collection The Eleventh Hour. His experience is the subject of an upcoming Alex Gibney documentary, Knife, scheduled for release on September 17.
Rushdie received his first competitive National Book Award nomination in 2024 for Knife. Earlier works, including Midnight’s Children, were published before he was eligible for the award.
The author has described his life and literary identity through three major cities and regions South Asia, London and New York. Much of his work has been set outside the United States, but Rushdie said American literature has long been enriched by writers who come from different parts of the world.
He considers himself part of a broad tradition of immigrant writers who have contributed to the country’s literary landscape.
The National Book Foundation will also honour pediatrician and literacy activist Perri Klass with its Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community at the November ceremony.
