Salman Rushdie

Well, he is the inspiration for this post so it made sense to start of with modern Indian literature's  notorious star. The one who's always embroiled in some kind of controversy despite his  clearly advance intellect and impeccable writing skills. This week, Rushdie's latest book is poised to hit the stands and it's aptly titled 'Joseph Anton' which is--you guessed it--the pseudonym he's been using while hiding under the threat of the fatwa that was issued against him post his 'satanic verses.'

It's a memoir of sorts and it pens an account of his years in hiding from the people behind the threats and attempting to retain some semblance of normalcy in his life. The book already figures in the long list of 14 titles for the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize. This is, as you can imagine no small feat in the world of literature.