Banu Mushtaq’s ‘Heart Lamp’ Wins International Booker Prize

Photo: The Booker Prizes

LONDON (ANI) – Indian author and women’s rights advocate Banu Mushtaq has made history by becoming the first Kannada writer to win the International Booker Prize 2025 for her short story collection Heart Lamp. The milestone marks two firsts for the prestigious global award: it is the first book originally written in Kannada and the first short story collection to receive the honor.

Heart Lamp, a powerful collection of 12 short stories written between 1990 and 2023, explores the lives of women and girls navigating the complexities of patriarchal societies in southern India. The work was translated from Kannada into English by Deepa Bhasthi, who shares the prize with Mushtaq.

Mushtaq, a prolific and widely celebrated literary figure in Karnataka, has published six short-story collections, a novel, an essay collection, and a poetry anthology. She has previously received major honors such as the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award. Heart Lamp is her first book-length translation into English. With this win, Mushtaq becomes only the second Indian writer ever to be awarded the International Booker Prize.

Bhasthi, a writer and literary translator based in Kodagu, southern India, has an extensive portfolio of Kannada translations, including works by Kota Shivarama Karanth and Kodagina Gouramma.

Max Porter, Chair of the 2025 International Booker Prize judges, praised Heart Lamp as a standout from the outset. “This was the book the judges really loved, right from our first reading,” he said. “We are thrilled to share this timely and exciting winner with readers around the world.”