Midtown Scholar Bookstore will host world-famous author Salman Rushdie in September.
One of the world’s most famous authors soon will be making a stop in Harrisburg, as Salman Rushdie plans to visit to promote his new novel.
On Sept. 29, Rushdie will stop by Midtown Scholar Bookstore for a reading and question-and-answer session, part of a 12-city tour to promote his novel, “The Golden House,” said Alex Brubaker, Midtown Scholar’s books and programs manager.
“We’re pretty thrilled,” Brubaker said. “We have been emphasizing trying to get the most respected and innovative authors to come here.”
The visit came about after Brubaker reached out to Rushdie’s publicist to see if Midtown Scholar could get on the tour itinerary.
“Harrisburg may not be the biggest market, but we have a really strong literary community, and I sold it on that,” Brubaker said.
Rushdie is the author of 12 previous novels, perhaps best known for his 1981 novel, “Midnight’s Children,” and his controversial 1988 work, “The Satanic Verses.” Queen Elizabeth II knighted Rushdie, who is of British-Indian descent, in 2007.
Rushdie’s publisher, Penguin Random House, describes his new novel “as “an epic of love and terrorism, loss and reinvention.”
To attend “An Evening with Salman Rushdie,” you must pre-order a signed copy of “The Golden House,” priced at $32. Otherwise, tickets are free, but available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the event beginning at 7 p.m. at Midtown Scholar.
“I am thrilled that such an extraordinarily accomplished author and public intellectual has chosen to include Harrisburg and the Midtown Scholar on his latest book tour,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who owns the bookstore with his wife, Catherine Lawrence.
Harrisburg is, by far, the smallest city on the tour, with St. Louis the next smallest, said Brubaker.
“[The visit] was rather surprising to us, too,” he said. “But it’s definitely exciting.”
Midtown Scholar Bookstore is located at 1302 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. Click here for more information and to obtain tickets for the event.
Author: Lawrance Binda
