The latest novelist to try his hand at TV is Salman Rushdie, who gained worldwide fame in the 1980s when Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him and Rushdie went into hiding, Deadline.com reports.

Rushdie is writing the script for "Next People," a drama that looks at contemporary American life, the story says. The news comes on the heels of reports that Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon is working on a television series for HBO.

Rushdie had expressed interest in moving into TV, and when Showtime Entertainment President David Nevins–reportedly a big fan of Rushdie’s work–heard about it, Nevins flew to New York to meet with the writer, the story says.

The article says it’s believed that Rushdie immediately agreed to work with Showtime and didn’t pitch the project to other networks. Rushdie will also executive produce the project with Working Title TV, the story adds.