Award in the Paulskirche
“For his inflexibility”: Salman Rushdie receives the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
Writer Salman Rushdie during the PEN America Literary Gala in May 2023.
© Frank Franklin II/AP/dpa
The award is endowed with 25,000 euros: Salman Rushdie receives the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade this year. The 76-year-old was seriously injured in an assassination last year.
The British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie receives the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. The 76-year-old, who was seriously injured in an attack last summer, will receive the award in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt in the autumn. The Indian-born author was honored “for his inflexibility, his life affirmation and for the fact that he enriches the world with his love of storytelling,” said the foundation board in Frankfurt am Main.
Since his 1981 masterpiece Midnight Children, Rushdie has impressed with his interpretations of migration and global politics. In his novels and non-fiction books, he combines narrative foresight with constant literary innovation, humor and wisdom. “He describes the force with which violent regimes destroy entire societies, but also the indestructible spirit of resistance of individuals.”
Salman Rushdie was the victim of an attack
Rushdie was attacked with a knife and seriously injured during a lecture in the United States last summer. He has been blind in one eye ever since. The attack came more than 30 years after Iran’s former revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for the assassination of Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses. Rushdie is now writing a book about the failed attack. Despite the consequences of the assassination, he continues to write – “imaginative and deeply human,” explained the board of trustees.
For decades the author has lived in constant danger. “Nevertheless, he remains one of the most passionate advocates of freedom of thought and language – not just his own, but also that of people whose views he does not share,” the statement said. “By taking great personal risks, he is defending an essential prerequisite for peaceful coexistence.”
The Board of Trustees quoted Rushdie as saying that he felt very honored and grateful for this important award: “I can only thank the jury for their generosity. I know how important this award is and I am a little intimidated by the list of previous winners and awardee, to whom my name will now be added. I am really delighted.”
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The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is endowed with 25,000 euros. It honors personalities who have contributed to the realization of the idea of peace in literature, science or art. Last year, the Ukrainian author Serhij Zhadan received the award.
The German Book Trade Association, the professional organization of publishers and bookstores, has been awarding the prize since 1950. The award is traditionally presented at the end of the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year, the ceremony is scheduled for October 22nd.