London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 22, 2026

UK sales of The Satanic Verses surge after Rushdie stabbing

UK sales of The Satanic Verses surge after Rushdie stabbing

Publisher Vintage has ordered a reprint following rush to buy the 1988 novel in the wake of the attack on the author earlier this month
Sales of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses have soared since the author was attacked in New York earlier this month. The novel has reentered the official UK charts and the publisher has ordered a reprint to meet demand.

Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and torso as he was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York state on 12 August. The novelist is currently recovering in hospital, and his suspected attacker, Hadi Matar, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges.

In the first full week of sales since the attack, from 14 to 20 August, the 1998 paperback edition of The Satanic Verses sold 2,179 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks physical book sales in more than 7,000 book retail outlets in the UK.

The novel was the 120th bestselling book overall, up from 1,157th the previous week and 24,491st in the chart the week before the attack. The No 1 bestseller this week was the late journalist and podcaster Deborah James’s memoir How to Live When You Could Be Dead.

In total, Rushdie’s books sold 3,744 copies in the week ending 20 August, up 236%, or 2,629 copies, on the previous week.

Readers trying to order the paperback of The Satanic Verses from the websites of retailers Waterstones and Foyles face a two-week wait.

Rushdie’s publisher Vintage, an imprint of Penguin Random House, said it was reprinting as a result of higher demand, and the book would be back in stock with retailers soon.

The ebook of The Satanic Verses also entered the Amazon charts for the first time in the week after Rushdie was attacked, going straight in at No 12 for the week of 14 August. The chart records the number of copies sold and pre-ordered through Amazon and Audible in the UK, and through digital subscription programmes.

A number of Amazon reviewers indicated they had purchased the novel in support of Rushdie after the attack.

Rushdie’s next book will be Victory City, due to be released in February 2023. Vintage said there were currently no plans to review or change the publication date.

Victory City is described by the publisher as the “epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, only to be consumed by it over the centuries”. It follows Pampa Kampana, a nine-year-old girl in 14th-century south India who witnesses the death of her mother and becomes a vessel for the goddess Parvati.

The goddess tells Pampa Kampana that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga – literally “victory city” – and over the next 250 years the girl’s life becomes deeply interwoven with that of the city.

The book is “styled as a translation of an ancient epic” and is a “saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Parliamentary Inquiry Highlights Urgent Need to Address Housing Shortage as Scottish Completions Hit Eleven-Year Low
United Kingdom and Singapore Sign Comprehensive Financial Agreement to Deepen Digital and Sustainable Market Ties
Greggs Announces Plan to Close Four Manufacturing Facilities and Cut Seven Hundred and Forty Jobs
International Monetary Fund Raises United Kingdom Economic Growth Forecast While Warning of Inflationary Pressures
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs Onto Gas to Lower Household Bills
Housebuilding Across Scotland Plummets to Eleven-Year Low Despite Government Pledges to Tackle National Housing Emergency
Greggs Announces Factory Closures Across Northern England and Scotland Affecting Seven Hundred Forty Jobs
United Kingdom and Singapore Conclude Eleventh Financial Dialogue in Singapore to Deepen Cooperation on Digital Finance and Capital Markets
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs to Gas Bills and Tap Windfall Profits to Lower Consumer Prices
British Broadcasting Corporation Announces Major Cost-Cutting Overhaul to Close Linear Broadcast Services for Television Channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland Alongside Digital Radio Station BBC Radio Four Extra
London Capital Markets Face Renewed Scrutiny After High-Profile Offerings Underperform Post-Listing
Green Party Wins Historic First Westminster Parliamentary By-Election in Gorton and Denton
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds Unveils Sweeping Regulatory Overhaul for English Water Industry
United Kingdom Health Security Agency Confirms Thirty-Four Cases in Kent Meningitis Outbreak
Ministry of Defence Prepares Heat Pump Subsidy Cuts to Fund Urgent Military Modernization
British and European Union Officials Schedule Long-Awaited Bilateral Leaders Summit for November Twentieth
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Urges Strict Fiscal Credibility to Protect British Bond Markets
United Kingdom Inflation Rises to Three Point One Percent Driven by Escalating Fuel Costs
Profit Warnings Among London-Listed Companies Reach Two-Year High Amid Global Energy Shocks
Chancellor John Healey Signals Targeted Tax Changes on Banks and London Corporate Offices Ahead of Budget
British Government Reallocates Twenty-Five Per Cent of International Climate Finance to Global Biodiversity Projects
Initial British Carbon Border Taxes Set to Undercut Parallel European Union Tariffs on Industrial Imports
Whitehall Prepares National Zero-Interest Loan Initiative to Accelerate Domestic Heat Pump and Solar Adoption
European Union Offers British Automakers Access to Hybrid Vehicle Trade Protections Subject to Strict Regulatory Alignment
British Probation Officers Threaten Widespread Industrial Action After Rejecting Five Per Cent Government Pay Offer
Microsoft Abandons Major British Artificial Intelligence Data Centre Citing Severe National Grid Power Constraints
United Kingdom Inflation Accelerates to Three Point Four Per Cent Ahead of Chancellor John Healey's Inaugural Autumn Budget
Surging Cloned Number Plates Severely Complicate Traffic Enforcement and Police Investigations
Mounting Opposition Challenges Planned Rollout of Autonomous Taxis Across London
Influential Think Tank Urges Rejoining European Union to Navigate Geopolitical Crises
Government Review Recommends Slashing Benefits to Fund Youth Employment Initiatives
Senior Minister Shabana Mahmood Seeks New Law Enforcement Pact With European Union
Airbus Executive Warns Britain Risks Losing Crucial Role in European Space Industry
Exorbitant Electricity Costs Push British Steelmakers to Worst Competitive Position in Three Years
British Food and Beverage Exports to European Union Collapse by Over a Third Since Brexit
Up to Twenty English Maternity Units Face Impending Closure Due to Safety and Staffing Crises
Government Declares Severe Drought Across Southern England Following Record Dry Spell
Corporate Profit Warnings Reach Two-Year High Amid Middle East Conflict and Rising Costs
International Monetary Fund Warns Chancellor John Healey Against Proposed Bank Tax Raid
Northern Ireland Secures Favorable Agricultural Export Agreement with European Union
Scottish Government Approves Major Offshore Floating Wind Farm Near Aberdeenshire
High Speed Two Rail Project Faces Three Billion Pound Cost Escalation on Initial Phase
National Health Service Warns of Winter Capacity Crisis Across English Hospitals
Tata Steel Confirms Two Thousand Job Cuts at Port Talbot to Fund Green Transition
Global Microchip Developer Announces Three Billion Pound Semiconductor Plant in Cambridge
United Kingdom Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Proposes Mandatory Licensing for Generative Models
United Kingdom Commits Additional Long-Range Weapons and Air Defenses to Ukraine
British Chancellor Overhauls Infrastructure Financing to Bypass Borrowing Constraints
Bank of England Holds Benchmark Interest Rate at Four Point Five Percent
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth Confirms Constitutional Discussions Over Welsh Independence During Initial Bilateral Call with Prime Minister
×