Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Salman Rushdie
From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Salman Rushdie made an impact.
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born British and American novelist known for blending magic realism with historical fiction. His work explores the connections and disruptions between Eastern and Western civilizations, often focusing on the Indian subcontinent. His second novel, Midnight's Children, won the Booker Prize in 1981 and was later recognized as the "best novel of all winners" during the prize's 25th and 40th anniversary celebrations, solidifying his place as a significant literary figure.
1975: Publication of Grimus
In 1975, Rushdie's debut novel, the science fiction tale Grimus, was published but generally ignored by the public and literary critics.
1981: Publication of Midnight's Children
In 1981, Rushdie published his novel, Midnight's Children, which gained him recognition. It follows the life of Saleem Sinai, born at the stroke of midnight as India gained its independence.
1981: Booker Prize for Midnight's Children
In 1981, Salman Rushdie's second novel, Midnight's Children, won the Booker Prize. The novel was later deemed "the best novel of all winners" on two occasions, for the 25th and 40th anniversary of the prize.
1981: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Awarded the Prize
In 1981, Salman Rushdie's work, Midnight's Children, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the prize.
1981: Midnight's Children wins Booker Prize
Midnight's Children won the 1981 Booker Prize.
1982: Advertising work at Ayer Barker
Until 1982, Rushdie worked for the advertising agency Ayer Barker, where he wrote the line "That'll do nicely" for American Express.
1983: Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
In 1983, Rushdie was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
1983: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Shame
In 1983, Salman Rushdie's work, Shame, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
1987: Publication of The Jaguar Smile
In 1987, Rushdie wrote a non-fiction book about Nicaragua called The Jaguar Smile, based on his first-hand experiences and research at the scene of Sandinista political experiments.
1988: Publication of The Satanic Verses
In 1988, Rushdie's most controversial work, The Satanic Verses, was published and won the Whitbread Award.
1988: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for The Satanic Verses
In 1988, Salman Rushdie's work, The Satanic Verses, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
1990: Publication of Haroun and the Sea of Stories
In 1990, Rushdie published Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which is about the magic of story-telling and an allegorical defence of the power of stories over silence.
1990: Review of Thomas Pynchon's Vineland
In 1990, Rushdie reviewed Thomas Pynchon's Vineland in The New York Times.
1994: Publication of East, West
In 1994, Rushdie published East, West, a collection of short stories.
1995: Publication of The Moor's Last Sigh
In 1995, Rushdie's novel The Moor's Last Sigh, a family saga spanning some 100 years of India's history, was published and won the Whitbread Award.
1995: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for The Moor's Last Sigh
In 1995, Salman Rushdie's work, The Moor's Last Sigh, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
September 1998: Iranian Government Commitment
On September 24, 1998, as a precondition for restoring diplomatic relations with the UK, the Iranian government, led by Mohammad Khatami, publicly committed to neither support nor hinder assassination operations against Salman Rushdie.
1999: Publication of The Ground Beneath Her Feet
In 1999, Rushdie published The Ground Beneath Her Feet, a riff on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, casting Orpheus and Eurydice as rock stars. The book features many original song lyrics; one was the basis for the U2 song "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", with Rushdie credited as the lyricist.
1999: Appointed Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France
In 1999, Rushdie was appointed a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.
2001: Publication of Fury
In 2001, Rushdie's novel Fury, set mainly in New York, was published.
2002: Publication of Step Across This Line
In 2002, Rushdie's non-fiction collection Step Across This Line was published.
2003: Essays Written
In 2003, Salman Rushdie began writing a collection of essays which would later be published in 2021 as 'Languages of Truth'.
2004: President of PEN American Center
From 2004 to 2006, Salman Rushdie was the President of PEN American Center and founder of the PEN World Voices Festival.
August 2005: Call for Reform in Islam
In mid-August 2005, Salman Rushdie called for a reform in Islam in a guest opinion piece printed in The Washington Post and The Times, advocating the application of higher criticism.
November 2005: Contribution to Free Expression Is No Offence
In November 2005, Salman Rushdie contributed to Free Expression Is No Offence, a collection of essays by several writers published by Penguin, writing about his opposition to the British government's introduction of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act.
2005: Publication of Shalimar the Clown
In 2005, Rushdie's novel Shalimar the Clown, a story about love and betrayal set in Kashmir and Los Angeles, was published.
2005: Received Hutch Crossword Book Award for Shalimar the Clown
In 2005, Salman Rushdie's novel Shalimar the Clown received the Hutch Crossword Book Award and was a finalist for the Whitbread Book Awards in the UK.
May 2006: Guest Host on The Charlie Rose Show
On May 12, 2006, Salman Rushdie was a guest host on The Charlie Rose Show, where he interviewed Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, whose 2005 film Water faced violent protests.
2006: President of PEN American Center
From 2004 to 2006, Salman Rushdie was the President of PEN American Center and founder of the PEN World Voices Festival.
2007: Knighthood for services to literature
In 2007, Rushdie was knighted for his services to literature.
2007: Distinguished Writer in Residence at Emory University
In 2007, Salman Rushdie began a five-year term as Distinguished Writer in Residence at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he also deposited his archives.
2007: Shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award
In 2007, Salman Rushdie's novel Shalimar the Clown was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award.
May 2008: Elected Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
In May 2008, Salman Rushdie was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
September 2008: Appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher
In September 2008, Salman Rushdie appeared as a panellist on the HBO programme Real Time with Bill Maher.
2008: Publication of The Enchantress of Florence
In 2008, The Enchantress of Florence was published, focusing on the past, telling the story of a European's visit to Akbar's court, and his revelation that he is a lost relative of the Mughal emperor.
March 2009: Appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher
In March 2009, Salman Rushdie appeared as a panellist on the HBO programme Real Time with Bill Maher.
September 2010: Production Began for Midnight's Children Film
In September 2010, production began for the cinematic adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children, with the film also being called Midnight's Children.
November 2010: Publication of Luka and the Fire of Life
In November 2010, Luka and the Fire of Life, a sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories, was published.
November 2010: Founding Patron of Ralston College
In November 2010, Salman Rushdie became a founding patron of Ralston College, a new liberal arts college that has adopted as its motto a Latin translation of a phrase ('free speech is life itself') from an address he gave at Columbia University in 1991.
June 2011: Announced Television Series 'The Next People'
In June 2011, Salman Rushdie announced that he had written the first draft of a script for a new television series for Showtime, called The Next People, a paranoid science-fiction series where people are disappearing and being replaced by other people. He will also serve as an executive producer for the show.
March 2012: Address to Conference in New Delhi
In March 2012, Salman Rushdie returned to India to address a conference in New Delhi on March 16.
September 2012: Publication of Joseph Anton: A Memoir
In September 2012, Rushdie's memoir, Joseph Anton: A Memoir, was published.
September 2012: Release of Joseph Anton
On September 18, 2012, Salman Rushdie's memoir of his years in hiding, titled Joseph Anton, was released. Joseph Anton was Rushdie's secret alias during the height of the controversy surrounding the fatwa.
2012: Publication of Joseph Anton: A Memoir
In 2012, Rushdie published Joseph Anton: A Memoir, an account of his life in the wake of the events following The Satanic Verses.
2012: Publication of "In the South" on Booktrack
In 2012, Rushdie published his short story "In the South" on the Booktrack platform.
2012: Release of Midnight's Children Film
In 2012, the cinematic adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children, directed by Deepa Mehta, was released.
2014: Taught a seminar on British Literature
In 2014, Salman Rushdie taught a seminar on British Literature at an institution.
September 2015: Joined New York University Journalism Faculty
In September 2015, Salman Rushdie joined the New York University Journalism Faculty as a Distinguished Writer in Residence.
2015: Publication of Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
In 2015, Rushdie published Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, a modern take on the One Thousand and One Nights. Based on the conflict of scholar Ibn Rushd, Rushdie explores themes of transnationalism and cosmopolitanism by depicting a war of the universe with a supernatural world of jinns.
2015: Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU
In 2015, Rushdie was named Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University.
2017: Appeared in Curb Your Enthusiasm
In 2017, Salman Rushdie appeared as himself in episode 3 of season 9 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, offering advice to Larry David on how to deal with the fatwa that has been ordered against him.
2017: Publication of The Golden House
In 2017, The Golden House, a satirical novel by Salman Rushdie set in contemporary America, was published.
2019: Publication of Quichotte
In 2019, Quichotte, a modern retelling of Don Quixote by Salman Rushdie, was published.
2019: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Quichotte
In 2019, Salman Rushdie's work, Quichotte, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
2020: Essays Written
In 2020, Salman Rushdie completed writing a collection of essays that he started in 2003 which would later be published in 2021 as 'Languages of Truth'.
2021: Publication of Languages of Truth
In 2021, Languages of Truth, a collection of essays written between 2003 and 2020 by Salman Rushdie, was published.
February 2023: Publication of Victory City
In February 2023, Rushdie's fifteenth novel, Victory City, was published. The book is described as an epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence and was Rushdie's first released work after he was attacked and severely injured in 2022.
April 2024: Publication of Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
In April 2024, Rushdie's autobiographical book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, was published. The book details the attack Rushdie experienced and his recovery and was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
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