Sir Salman Rushdie, author of Midnight's Children and controversial but highly-acclaimed The Satanic Verses, has been announced as the recipient of this year's PEN Pinter prize.
The PEN Pinter Prize was established in 2009 in memory of the Nobel-winning playwright Harold Pinter and honours British or UK-residing authors of outstanding literary contribution.
Previous recipients have included Carol Ann Duffy and Hanif Kureishi.
Chair of the judging panel, Maureen Freely has said that the prize is the organisation's way of thanking Rushdie, 'not just for his books and his many years of speaking out for freedom of expression, but also for his countless private acts of kindness. When he sees writers unjustly vilified, prosecuted, or forced into exile, he takes a personal interest.'
Rushdie will be presented with his prize in a ceremony at the British Library in October.
