Knife

**The book behind the critically-acclaimed 2026 documentary film Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie**

A gripping, intimate meditation on life, loss, love, art – and finding the strength to stand up again

On the morning of 12 August 2022, Salman Rushdie was sitting onstage in upstate New York, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black – black clothes, black mask – rushed down the aisle towards him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are.

What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey of healing and recovery.

PRAISE FOR KNIFE

‘A masterpiece… Extraordinary’ Daily Telegraph

‘A story of hatred defeated by love’ Guardian

‘An incandescent book about love and hard-won survival’ The Times

‘Salman Rushdie is a genius… A brave book by a brave man’ Evening Standard

‘Gripping… It reminds us of the things worth fighting for’ New York Times

No.1 Sunday Times bestseller, April 2024