LONDON (AP) 鈥� Salman Rushdie鈥檚 account of a stabbing attack that blinded him in one eye is among contenders announced Thursday for a prestigious
Rushdie鈥檚 memoir 鈥� 鈥� is among 12 books on the long list for the 50,000 pound ($66,000) Baillie Gifford Prize.
The 77-year-old novelist recounts being attacked at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York in 2022 as he was about to deliver a lecture on keeping writers safe from harm. A New Jersey man, Hadi Matar, is for the stabbing.
Prize judges called the book 鈥渂rutally clear, honest and, best of all, funny.鈥�
Rushdie won the Booker Prize for fiction in 1981 for 鈥淢idnight鈥檚 Children.鈥� He spent years in hiding after Iran鈥檚 , in 1989 calling for his death for the alleged blasphemy in his novel 鈥淭he Satanic Verses.鈥�
Other semi-finalists for the nonfiction prize include Australia鈥檚 Richard Flanagan for his memoir 鈥淨uestion 7鈥� and several works on Asian history, including Gary J. Bass鈥� 鈥淛udgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia鈥� and Viet Thanh Nguyen鈥檚 鈥淎 Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial.鈥�
Founded in 1999, the Baillie Gifford Prize recognizes English-language books from any country in current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. It has been credited with bringing an eclectic slate of fact-based books to a wider audience.
Last year鈥檚 winner was John Vaillant鈥檚 real-life climate-change thriller 鈥淔ire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.鈥�
Finalists for the 2024 prize will be announced Oct. 10 and the winner will be crowned Nov. 19 at a ceremony in London.
The Associated Press
