Salman Rushdie leaned on a therapist to help him write about his near-fatal stabbing

Speaking at a question-and-answer session at an English PEN event at the Southbank Centre in London, Rushdie explained: "[It is the] only book I've ever written with the help of a therapist.

"It gave me back control of the narrative. Instead of being a man lying on the stage with a pool of blood, I'm a man writing a book about a man live on stage with a pool of blood. That felt good."

However, he still found it tough to describe the incident that almost claimed his life. He said: "'The first chapter] in which I have to describe in some detail the exact nature of the attack. It was very hard to do."

After the stabbing, Salman was airlifted to hospital and underwent eight hours of surgery. He lost an eye and suffered multiple stab wounds to areas of his face, neck, chest and hand, remaining under the care of doctors for 18 days before starting three weeks of rehabilitation treatment.

Hadi Matar, 24, was arrested on suspicion of attacking the author and later pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault. He is currently behind bars awaiting trial.

During the event in London, Rushdie insisted he plans to be in court to testify against the man accused of harming him. He said: "[The not guilty plea was] an absurdity ...

"It doesn't bother me to be in the courtroom with him. It should bother him."