Salman Rushdie to receive National Book Award for lifetime achievement

Author Salman Rushdie has been named the recipient of the National Book Award medal for lifetime achievement. The award, presented by the nonprofit National Book Foundation, recognizes distinguished contributions to American letters.

Rushdie, a 79-year-old US citizen who was born in Mumbai and emigrated to England as a teenager, expressed that the honor reinforces his sense of belonging to American literature. He is only the fourth recipient born outside of the United States, joining Saul Bellow, Isabel Allende, and Art Spiegelman.

The medal will be presented by author Kiran Desai during a ceremony in Manhattan on November 18. Rushdie is known for works such as ‘Midnight’s Children’, which won the Booker Prize, and ‘The Satanic Verses’.