In and of itself, this is pretty cool—The Corpse Walker is a damn fine book, and he’s going to be appearing with Philip Gourevitch and Salman Rushdie—but the event has been made even more memorable since Liao Yiwu escaped from China to German this summer.

Here’s an email he sent out back in April:

Friends: I originally planned to leave for the United States on April 4 in order to make a publicity tour for my book God is Red which will be published in English translation by Harper Collins and for my book The Corpse Walker which was published by Random House. Unexpectedly, on March 28th, the police issued an order forbidding me to leave China. I had originally planned to travel to San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New York, Washington and other cities and to give lectures, readings and musical performances at Harvard, Yale and other universities as well as participate in the New York Literary Festival where I was to make a speech and perform, and to have a dialogue with writers from around the world on the theme “Contemporary Writer and Bearing Witness to History”. Now all this has been canceled. My new book is also going to be published in Australia. My plan to travel from the United States to Australia has also been canceled. Ever since my return from Germany last year, I have been closely monitored. The police have “invited me to drink tea” many times. My writing has been repeatedly interrupted. I have once again been forbidden to travel abroad for national security reasons. Over the last ten or so years I have strived to get the right to travel abroad 16 times. I succeeded once and failed 15 times. Thank you all for your concern for me over the years. Liao Yiwu

So if you’re in the NY area, you should definitely check this out. It’s taking place tomorrow, September 13th at 8pm at the Tishman Auditorium at the New School (66 W. 12th St., between 5th and 6th Aves). Tickets are $20 or $15 for PEN Members and students. More information—including a link to buy tickets—is available

Which I suppose is nice . . . Although it seems like there would’ve been a way to make this book selection a bit more diverse . . . I mean, it is the World Voices Festival after all . . . And it’s not like the rest of the world isn’t already flooded with American Classics (and Not-So Classics) . . . And if there’s one thing we’re not lacking in the world, it’s people recommending American books . . . I should withhold judgement until I see the list, but my cynical self is assuming that these 10 books will not surprise and impress any of the guests . . . Would be more interesting if each author picked out 10 books from their country that were then disseminated throughout the rooms . . . Sure, some of these would only be available in German or French or Spanish or whatever, but that sort of exchange seems to be sort of the overall point of the festival . . .

For the second time, Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie has been judged the best ever winner of the Booker prize. The Best of Booker award, which has been announced at the London literature festival this afternoon, marks the prize’s 40th anniversary. A similar contest – the Booker of Bookers – was held in 1993 to coincide with its 25th birthday, and came to the same conclusion. [. . .]

Midnight’s Children is a teeming fable of postcolonial India, told in magical-realist fashion by a telepathic hero born at the stroke of midnight on the day the country became independent. First published in 1981, it was met with little immediate excitement. It was an unexpected winner, but went on to garner critical and popular acclaim around the world. The novel’s popularity, very unusually for a literary award, is what has secured the prize, having been picked from the shortlist by an online public vote that drew just over 7,800 votes. The shortlist itself was selected by a panel of judges – the biographer, novelist and critic Victoria Glendinning; writer and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, and John Mullan, professor of English at University College London. (Via )

In case you’re wondering, here’s the short list;

The Ghost Road by Pat Barker (1995)
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey (1988)
Disgrace JM Coetzee (1999)
The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer (1974)
The Siege of Krishnapur by JG Farrell (1973)
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (1981)

Since there are still a lot of people interested in attending—especially UR staff, faculty, and students—we’ve made special arrangements to simulcast the event in Hubble Auditorium in

This too is free and open to the public, and once again, you have to register online (by clicking the banner at the top of this page or clicking ). And I strongly encourage anyone interested in attending in doing this asap. The auditorium seats 500, but based on how fast we sold out the first auditorium, I wouldn’t be surprised if this fills up as well . . .

If you have any questions/concerns please e-mail me at chad.post at rochester dot edu.

This event—the first official event to take place outside of New York City—will take place from 6-8pm at the University of Rochester Advancement and Alumni Center, 300 E. River Road.

The event is free and open to the public, but we do have a limited number of seats, so all attendees must register via the link below. Simply click through, fill out the necessary info and print your confirmation page, which you’ll need to bring the night of the event.

I don’t think I really need to explain who Salman Rushdie and Umberto Eco are, but if you’re interested, more info about each are available on this press release.

In terms of Rushdie, what I’m most excited about is this new edition of which is a Rushdie novel I haven’t read, but one that was recommended to me by both Edwin Frank of NYRB and Joanna Scott. Also, his new book— —will be out in June, was recently excerpted in the and discussed at

Umberto Eco—who may well give his reading in Italian, which I think would be really cool—has a very impressive with information about all his books, interviews, articles about his work, etc. I’m very interested in reading his latest book which Publishers Weekly describes as such: “He delves deeply into such subjects as Mideastern and European politics, myth, prejudice, globalization, The Da Vinci Code, magical thinking, rhetoric, religion, intelligent design and Harry Potter.” An is available online from Harcourt.

Personally, I’m really excited to be involved in such a great event, with such great authors, and I have to thank Caro Llewellyn from PEN for making this all possible.

The Three Musketeers Reunited:
Umberto Eco, Salman Rushdie and Mario Vargas Llosa

When: Friday, May 2
bq. Where: 92nd St. Y: New York City
bq. What time: 7:30 p.m.

PEN is excited to make the first event announcement of the 2008 World Voices Festival. The event will feature three literary heavyweights appearing at the 92nd Street Y for a special repeat performance. On October 10, 1995, London’s Royal Festival Hall hosted a historic night of readings by three of the world’s most distinguished writers: Umberto Eco from Italy, British-Indian Salman Rushdie, and Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru. At dinner afterwards, Eco anointed the trio as The Three Musketeers. Now, twelve years later, the PEN World Voices Festival, in collaboration with the Poetry Center, is proud to present The Three Musketeers together again for one unforgettable evening.

The Three Musketeers Reunited will take place on May 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.