Salman Rushdie's memoir about stabbing attack on him will release next year

Penguin Random House announced on Wednesday (Oct 11) that Salman Rushdie's memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, which is based on last year's stabbing attack on him in New York, will be published on Apr 16 next year.

Rushdie was stabbed multiple times while he was preparing to deliver a lecture on a stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York State in Aug 2022. The acclaimed author received life-threatening injuries and underwent emergency surgery. The author lost vision in one eye and feeling in some fingertips.

At the Hay literary festival in June, the Indian-born British-American author said that he was working on a new book. In a pre-recorded Zoom appearance, he said that it would be a "relatively short book" with a "couple of hundred pages".

Add WION as a Preferred Source

He told the audience, "It's not the easiest book in the world to write, but it's something I need to get past in order to do anything else. I can't really start writing a novel that's got nothing to do with this. So I just have to deal with it."

The publication said that his book will detail the horrific experiences in the aftermath of the attack.

As quoted by media reports, Nihar Malaviya, who is the CEO of Penguin Random House, described the book as a "reminder of the power of words to make sense of the unthinkable. We are honoured to publish it, and amazed at Salman's determination to tell his story, and to return to the work he loves."

Why was Rushdie stabbed?

It is believed that Rushdie was attacked because of his infamous novel The Satanic Verses, though it's not confirmed.

The author spent years hiding under death threats from Iran. The novel was banned in many countries with large Muslim populations. However, Iran denied any involvement in the New York attack.

The book was published in 1988 and a year later, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then supreme leader of Iran, pronounced a fatwa or religious edict, calling upon Muslims to kill the novelist and anyone involved in its publication for blasphemy.

Even a bounty worth millions of dollars was raised to murder the novelist.

The attacker, Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, rushed to the stage and stabbed the writer in the neck and torso.

The 24-year-old later pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges.

Matar had once praised Iran's Khomeini in an exclusive jailhouse interview with The Post.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.