Salman Rushdie | Hay Festival

I made a quick trip to the final day of the Hay Literature Festival to photograph Salman Rushdie, ahead of his first public event in the UK since the man who stabbed him at an event in New York in 2022 was jailed for 25 years.

I’ve photographed Rushdie once before. Many years ago, and early in my career. I photographed him with Martin Amis. I remember at the time feeling very aware that it was an incredible opportunity, capturing two literary heavyweights together. For most of the brief session, they were deep in conversation about their mutual friend Christopher Hitchens, who was then battling the oesophageal cancer that would eventually take his life. I was still fairly inexperienced, and I remember hovering awkwardly on the edge of things, intimidated and unsure whether to step in, but keen to capture something of the moment.

The photos from that first encounter were, predictably, not great, but I’m pleased with these latest portraits, especially given how challenging festival green rooms can be to work in.