Author Salman Rushdie gives a 10-minute writer's workshop before an event recorded for radio in Portsmouth. The workshop was recorded backstage. #writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we play a story from Salman Rushdie, a treasured member of The Moth family. This episode is hosted by Jon Goode.

Host: Jon Goode

Storyteller: Salman Rushdie

Ban on Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses: এখন যে কেউ চাইলে রুশদির লেখা বিতর্কিত বইটি আনিয়ে পড়তে পারেন। কোনও বই নিষিদ্ধ থাকার প্রেক্ষিতে সন্দেহ নেই এটা খুবই তাৎপর্যপূর্ণ। কলম যে সত্যিই অনেক শক্তিশালী, সেই তত্ত্বটাই যেন এতে ফের প্রতিষ্ঠিত হল। শেষমেশ সাহিত্যেরই জয়-- বিষয়টিকে এভাবেও দেখা যায়।

Perhaps the notification that banned the import of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses was as fictitious as the characters in the novel

The acclaimed writer describes how he develops his novels, what he expects from reviewers, and why business people should still read fiction.

The New Yorker’s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, talks with Salman Rushdie about “Quichotte,” his apocalyptic quest novel. A few years ago, when the four hundredth anniversary of “Don Quixote” was being celebrated, Rushdie reread Cervantes’s book and found himself newly engaged by a much-improved translation. He immediately began thinking of writing his own story about a “silly old fool,” like Quixote, who becomes obsessed with an unattainable woman and undertakes a quest to win her love. This character became Quichotte (named for the French opera loosely based on “Don Quixote”), who is seeking the love of—or, as she sees it, stalking—a popular talk-show host. As Quichotte journeys to find her, he encounters the truths of contemporary America: the opioid epidemic, white supremacy, the fallout from the War on Terror, and more. “I’ve always really liked the risky thing of writing very close up against the present moment,” Rushdie tells Treisman. “If you do it wrong, it’s a catastrophe. If you do it right, with luck, you somehow capture a moment.” At the same time, the novel gives full rein to Rushdie’s fantastical streak—at one point, for instance, Quichotte comes across a New Jersey town where people turn into mastodons. Treisman talks with the author about the influence of science fiction on his imagination, and about his personal connection to the tragedy of opioids. Rushdie’s much younger sister died from the consequences of addiction, and the book is centrally concerned with siblings trying to reconnect after separation.

Before the final announcement of the Booker Prize 2019 winner, here’s a list of all the books that has been nominated this year.

Mishra, Vijay, author

Rushdie, Salman, author