A day after being stabbed, author Salman Rushdie has been taken off a ventilator and is able to speak again.
Mr Rushdie, 75, was critically injured after being attacked while speaking at an event in New York state.
Andrew Wylie, his agent, confirmed the news to US media but had previously stated that the author might lose an eye.
Mr Rushdie has faced death threats for years because of his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous.
On Saturday, the man charged in the attack pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and was remanded in custody without bail.
Hadi Matar, 24, is accused of storming the stage and stabbing Mr Rushdie in the face, neck, and abdomen at least ten times. Following the attack, Mr Wylie stated that Mr Rushdie had suffered nerve damage in one arm, and liver, and would most likely lose an eye.
While the author’s current condition has not been updated, several fellow writers and scholars expressed relief that the novelist was now able to speak.
The president of the Chautauqua Institution, where the attack occurred, Michael Hill, also tweeted the news.
