Salman Rushdie Honored With First Ever Lifetime Disturbing Peace Award

Famous writer Salman Rushdie, a British citizen of Indian origin, was given the first Lifetime Disturbing the Peace Award presented by the Vaclav Havel Center in Manhattan, New York on 14 November 2023. The honour was reportedly kept secret until moments before Rushdie accepted the award.

• It is noteworthy in this context that Salman Rushdie has remained out of the public eye since the knife attack on him at a literary festival in Western New York in August 2022.

Rushdie received the German Book Trade's Peace Prize:

• At the age of 76, Salman Rushdie found himself receiving yet another accolade from the German book trade's Peace Prize last month, reflecting the irony of being honored for "disturbing the peace."

Honoring the courage of Abdel-Fattah:

• The 'Disturbing the Peace Award to a Courageous Writer at Risk' was presented to Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel-Fatah. Despite being imprisoned, Abdel-Fatah remains a symbol of resistance against Egypt's authoritarian regime.
• Accepting the award on behalf of her imprisoned nephew, acclaimed writer Adhaf Sueif expressed her gratitude to Abdel-Fattah, particularly for the award's name, "Disturbing the Peace".
• Abdel-Fatah, 42, gained international recognition during the 2011 pro-democracy uprising in the Middle East. His repeated imprisonment under the presidency of Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi symbolizes the ongoing struggle against autocratic rule in Egypt.
• The event, attended by many writers and diplomats, emphasized the importance of acknowledging individuals dedicated to the protection of freedom of expression and human rights in the face of adversity.

Some important books of Salman Rushdie:

• Grimace (1975)
• Midnight's Children (1981)
• Shame (1983)
• The Satanic Verses (1988)
• Moor's Last Sigh (1995)
• The Ground Beneath Her Feet (1999)
• Furry (2001)
• Shalimar the Clown (2005)
• The Enchantress of Florence (2008)
• The Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights (2015)
• The Golden House (2017)
• Quichotte (2019)
• Victory City (2023)