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Sir Salman Rushdie has paid tribute to all those who stood up and opposed the fatwa imposed on him 20 years ago for writing his novel, The Satanic Verses. Rushdie, one of they keynote speakers at this year's Hay Festival, in Powys, told of the booksellers who "redoubled" their efforts to sell the banned work. Rushdie said the "many acts of courage" had stayed "more than the ugliness". The author, who was knighted in June last year, told the audience in a very wet festival about his years in hiding after the fatwa, calling for his execution, was issued in 1989.