Salman Rushdie makes first public appearance since attack, praising ‘heroes’ who saved him

Salman Rushdie has made his first public appearance since he was stabbed and lost sight in one eye after being attacked at a literary event, joking that it was “nice to be back – as opposed to not being back, which was also an option”.

Rushdie was a surprise attendee at the Pen America gala on Thursday night in New York. The author was greeted with a standing ovation according to the New York Times. After his remarks about being back, he said he was “pretty glad the dice rolled this way”. …

The gala came the same week as Pen America announced it was, along with publisher Penguin Random House and a group of authors and parents, suing Florida’s Escambia County school district and school board over book bans.

Rushdie, who also this week appeared at the British book awards via a video message, said that Pen America’s mission to protect free expression was never “more important” and added: “Terrorism must not terrorise us. Violence must not deter us. A luta continua. The struggle goes on.”