Who is Salman Rushdie?

“Will you come to the Salman Rushdie support reading tomorrow?”

Aside from flying Charlottesville VA to Dublin, sorting an international cell phone coverage debacle, and checking into my hotel there were no other Thursday evening plans.

‘Why not?’ After-all, I was in Ireland as a writer to attend the International Dublin Writers Festival (#IDWFestival).

Three of us met up in front of Hodges Figgis Bookshop on Dawson Street where my host made introductions over a quick coffee assembling on Kildare Street in front of Leinster House (seat of the Parliament of Ireland).

Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born writer wrote a fiction novel and earned a death warrant in the 1980s. In August 2022 he suffered one of many assassination attempts- in New York, a man rushed the stage stabbing him repeatedly at the beginning of a lecture.

America and the world were sadly silent on the matter.

A month later I gathered with members of Irish Pen in a low key gathering of support for the safety of writers around the world.

Move out of your comfort zone.

Speak up.

Do Something New EveryDay.