politics
March 15, 2026
Salman Rushdie Doesn’t Want to Be Your ‘Free Speech Barbie’
Speaking with George Packer at the New Orleans Book Festival, the author was eager to return to the subject of fiction.
TL;DR
- Salman Rushdie spoke with George Packer at the New Orleans Book Festival, expressing a desire to be known for his writing rather than the 1989 fatwa or the 2022 attack.
- He described himself as a working writer, frustrated by his public persona as a symbol of free expression.
- Rushdie discussed literary censorship, differentiating between historical threats from the powerful and religious, and contemporary self-censorship driven by fear of opprobrium.
- He shared his relief at being able to write fiction again after the trauma of the attempted murder, noting that his new short story collection, *The Eleventh Hour*, is his first fiction since the attack.
- His new stories are inspired by a diverse cast of characters, including Kafka, Goya, Bosch, Tolkien, Dickens, and Alan Turing.
- Rushdie is also interested in Enheduanna, a Sumerian priestess credited as the first person to sign her work.