New York: Half a dozen celebrated authors of Indian origin, including Salman Rushdie, were scheduled to speak here later Saturday in support of Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama at an event organized by the South Asians for Obama (SAFO) group.

Rushdie, a British citizen now living in the US, was to join Indian American writers Jhumpa Lahiri, Kiran Desai, Suketu Mehta, Manil Suri and Akhil Sharma at the event, to be emceed by filmmaker Mira Nair.

"It is a rare occasion that such eminent writers, winners of Bookers and Pulitzers, are coming together to speak about politics - and they obviously support Senator Obama," an event spokesperson told IANS.

"They will be free to read passages relevant to the occasion from their own or others' work or speak about why they support Obama," he added.

About 400 people were expected to attend the ticketed event, with the funds going to Obama's campaign.

The year-old SAFO works to mobilise South Asians in favour of Obama.