SALMAN RUSHDIE - RUSHDIE JOINS US UNIVERSITY STAFF

Acclaimed British author SALMAN RUSHDIE has signed up to teach literature at an American university, and will donate his archive to the establishment's library too. THE SATANIC VERSES author who, in 1989, became the subject of a death edict issued by Iran's revolutionary leader AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH KHOMEINI, will take up the five-year appointment at Atlanta's Emory University next spring (07). As Distinguished Writer in Residence he'll teach four-week courses every year. Emory president JAMES WAGNER says, "Salman Rushdie is not only one of the foremost writers of our generation, he is also a courageous champion of human rights and freedom." Rushdie's appointment at the institution marks his first extended relationship with a university. His generous library donation will include private journals, personal correspondence, notebooks, photographs and manuscripts of all of his writings, including two early unpublished novels.