Salman Rushdie Discusses New Novel TWO YEARS EIGHT MONTHS AND TWENTY-EIGHT NIGHTS at The Music Hall Tonight

The Music Hall's Writers on a New England Stage series will present bestselling author Salman Rushdie tonight, September 22, 2015. Mr. Rushdie will discuss his first novel for adults in seven years, TWO YEARS EIGHT MONTHS AND TWENTY-EIGHT NIGHTS, a wonder tale about the way we live now, a rich and multifaceted work that blends history, mythology, and a timeless love story to bring alive a world -- our world -- that has been plunged into an age of unreason.

The 7:30pm event includes an author presentation followed by an onstage interview with Virginia Prescott, host of New Hampshire Public Radio's "Word of Mouth". It will be held at The Music Hall's Historic Theater at 28 Chestnut Street, in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Inspired by the traditional "wonder tales" of the East, Salman Rushdie's TWO YEARS EIGHT MONTHS AND TWENTY-EIGHT NIGHTS is satirical and bawdy, full of cunning and folly, rivalries and betrayals, kismet and karma, rapture and redemption. Remaining faithful to 2,000 years of storytelling tradition yet rooted in the concerns of our present moment, it is an enduring testament to the power of the imagination.

"It's a great honor to welcome back Salman Rushdie as we launch into the 10th season of Writers on a New England Stage," said Margaret Talcott, Producer of the celebrated author series. "Three years ago he took the stage to discuss his nonfiction work Joseph Anton - now we look forward to hearing about his fiction and his mastery in storytelling, his remarkable ease in combining traditional elements of myth and folklore with contemporary pop culture. We are in for treat."

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the near future, after a storm strikes New York City, the strangenesses begin. A down-to-earth gardener finds that his feet no longer touch the ground. A graphic novelist awakens in his bedroom to a mysterious entity that resembles his own sub -- Stan Lee creation. Abandoned at the mayor's office, a baby identifies corruption with her mere presence, marking the guilty with blemishes and boils. A seductive gold digger is soon tapped to combat forces beyond imagining.

Unbeknownst to them, they are all descended from the whimsical, capricious, wanton creatures known as the jinn, who live in a world separated from ours by a veil. Centuries ago, Dunia, a princess of the jinn, fell in love with a mortal man of reason. Together they produced an astonishing number of children, unaware of their fantastical powers, who spread across generations in the human world.

Once the line between worlds is breached on a grand scale, Dunia's children and others will play a role in an epic war between light and dark spanning a thousand and one nights -- or two years, eight months, and twenty-eight nights. It is a time of enormous upheaval, where beliefs are challenged, words act like poison, silence is a disease, and a noise may contain a hidden curse.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SALMAN RUSHDIE is the author of twelve novels -- Grimus, Midnight's Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Moor's Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Fury, Shalimar the Clown, The Enchantress of Florence, Luka and the Fire of Life, and TWO YEARS EIGHT MONTHS AND TWENTY-EIGHT NIGHTS -- and one collection of short stories: East, West. He has also published four works of nonfiction: Joseph Anton, The Jaguar Smile, Imaginary Homelands, and Step Across This Line, and co-edited two anthologies, Mirrorwork and Best American Short Stories 2008. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. A former president of American PEN, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature.

The ticket package for Writers on a New England Stage: Salman Rushdie on Tuesday, September 22, at 7:30pm is $13.25 ($11.25 for members). For each 1-2 tickets sold, the purchase of a book voucher ($28 hardcover) is required. Vouchers can be redeemed on the event night for signed copies of the book. Packages can be purchased through The Music Hall Box Office, located at 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, or over the phone at 603.436.2400.

Each literary evening features an author presentation followed by an onstage interview with Virginia Prescott, host of New Hampshire Public Radio's "Word of Mouth." Live music performed by the award-winning house band Dreadnaught. Shows are rebroadcast on NH Public Radio.

The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus - one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures Program, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner, recently named "best performing arts venue" by Yankee Magazine and the recipient of the NH AIA award for design excellence.

With acclaimed signature series including Writers on a New England Stage - a partnership between The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio - and the Intimately Yours music series, we bring top authors and artists to both stages. Also, HD broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera and the National Theatre of London as well as extraordinary cinema fill both screens almost every night of the year.

This dynamic arts center urges patrons to Explore + Learn via master classes, post film panel discussions, and matinees for children. An anchor organization in this historic working seaport, The Music Hall is one of downtown Portsmouth's biggest employers and largest contributors to the regional economy: The Music Hall and its patrons contribute $7.1 million annually to the local economy through show and visitor related spending.

Innovative in its outlook, the organization is community oriented and committed to making the Seacoast flourish. The Music Hall is a 501(c)3 nonprofit managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a volunteer board. Though global in the scope of its artists and programs, The Music Hall operates independently with the support of 3,000 members, 300 corporate partners and 58 community partner organizations. Welcoming more than 100,000 patrons (including 20,000 children) each year from the tri-state area and beyond, The Music Hall is the region's center for the performing arts, literature and education...easy to get to, impossible to forget.