The PEN Pinter Prize 2014, The British Library

The combination of a prestigious literary award, a very rare public address from an esteemed writer, and the celebration of literature as a tool for global change make this an unmissable evening.

The PEN Pinter prize

Established in honour of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, this prestigious literary award celebrates, in Pinter's own words, an "unflinching, unswerving" perspective and "fierce intellectual determination... to define the real truth of our lives and our societies." Past winners include fellow playwrights Sir Tom Stoppard (2013) and Sir David Hare (2011), Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy (2012) and playwright cum screenwriter cum novelist Hanif Hureishi (2010). This year's panel of judges comprises of novelist Kamila Shamsie, theatre critic and Pinter's biographer Michael Billington, Pinter's widow, author Antonia Fraser and journalist Simon Jenkins. President of English PEN, writer and academic Maureen Freely chairs the panel. 

Salman Rushdie

Since winning the Booker Prize for his second novel Midnight's Children in 1981, Salman Rushie abandoned his copyrighting beginnings and was capatpulted to literary nobility. He has won innumerable awards, including two Best of the Bookers, two Whitbreads and a Golden PEN, but his career is a controversial as it is celebrated.

The Satanic Verses, Rushdie's fourth novel embodies Pinter's ideal of fearless determination; his use of real people and events to build a novel infused with magical realism inspired accusations of blasphemy and mockery from conservative Muslims. This was no minor controversy, and the backlash resulted in a fatwā calling for Rushie's death, a string of assassination attempts and the fatal attack against Hitoshi Igrashi (the Japanese translator was stabbed to death for his involvement with the novel). It will be fascinating to hear Rushdie in this rare public appearance and he reflects upon his literary career and engages with the ideas of courage and intellectual truth upon which this award is founded.

An International Writer of Courage

Each year, as part of the PEN Pinter Prize, the winner is invited to select a writer who has been persecuted for their words or beliefs to share the accolade. Salman Rushie will announce his co-winner at the event, where he or she will accept the award and give a short address.