Salman Rushdie at Microsoft

Widely regarded as one of the great writers of our time, Salman Rushdie is the author of eleven previous novels. A Fellow of the British Royal Society of Literature, he has received dozens of awards from countries around the world including the Writers’ Guild Award, the European Union’s Aristeion Prize for Literature, Author of the Year Prizes in both Britain and Germany and a U.S. National Arts Award. He holds honorary doctorates and fellowships at six European and six American universities, is an Honorary Professor in the Humanities at M.I.T, and University Distinguished Professor at Emory University.

He holds the rank of Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres – France’s highest artistic honour. Between 2004 and 2006 he served as President of PEN American Center, and continues to work as Chairman of the PEN World Voices International Literary Festival, which he helped to create. In June 2007 he received a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honors. In 2008 he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was named a Library Lion of the New York Public Library. In addition, Midnight’s Children was named the Best of the Booker by a public vote.

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights  is a spellbinding blend of history and folklore with tremendous philosophical depth. The perfect entry point for new readers, this is a lush modern fairytale about monsters that are unleashed when reason recedes and religion reigns, and an enduring testament to the power of storytelling.