Salman Rushdie's autobiography, Joseph Anton: A Memoir, is based on his own experiences. Random House published it in September 2012.
Rushdie assumed the alias 'Joseph Anton' while in hiding after Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual and political head of the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a fatwa in the wake of significant criticism and debate over Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses (1988). To honor the writers' Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov, he chose the name. Rushdie was irritated when police officers referred to him as 'Joe,' a more informal moniker. The memoir is a description of his life under the fatwa, which is still in effect
It also covers other elements of his personal life, including his friendships with fellow authors like Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux, Bill Buford, and Martin Amis, as well as public figures like Alan Yentob. It also details his second marriage to Marianne Wiggins, including the bitter nature of their breakup, as well as his third and fourth marriages (and break-ups) to Elizabeth West and Padma Lakshmi.
Rushdie's memoir is unique in that he describes his life as 'Joseph Anton' in the third person rather than the first.
On September 18, 2012, the book was named as one of the 14 titles on the longlist for the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize.
