Salman Rushdie Makes First Public Appearance Since Being Stabbed On Stage 9 Months Ago

Salman Rushdie is returning to the spotlight for the first time in nine months, when he was stabbed on stage at an event.

The 75-year-old novelist made an appearance at the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala on Thursday night (May 18) at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Salman was joined on the red carpet by his wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

More celebs in attendance included Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria, Sex in the City author Candace Bushnell, Emily Ratajkowski, comedian John Mulaney, and SNL‘s Colin Jost, Fred Armisen, and Lorne Michaels.

“I feel great,” Salman said at the event (via the New York Daily News). “I have a long association with PEN America and I’m just happy to be amongst writers and book people.”

Read more about the extent of Salman‘s injuries from the attack last year.