Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie named 2026 recipient of National Book Foundation medal

Salman Rushdie will receive the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2026, to be presented at the 77th National Book Awards in New York on November 18 with Kiran Desai as presenter. As the 39th recipient and only the fourth born outside the United States, the honor underscores his five-decade literary career and his status as a U.S. citizen who identifies as an immigrant writer whose work traverses borders.