If Salman Rushdie was going to seem a little smug or self-satisfied as he took to the stage on the last evening of the Miami book fair, my brother and I agreed before hand, then we'd understand completely.
Roberto Saviano, the Italian writer and journalist, has lived under constant police protection since the publication of his non-fiction book Gmorrah in 2006 due to his fierce criticism of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia.
It is largely agreed that Republican candidate John McCain at least partly chose Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as his VP choice in order to appeal to the women voters who supported Hilary Clinton as the Democratic Presidential nominee.