Banu Mushtaq Becomes First Kannada Writer to Win International Booker Prize

London, May 21 2025:


In a historic win for Indian literature, Kannada author, lawyer, and activist Banu Mushtaq has been awarded the prestigious International Booker Prize 2025 for her short story collection “Heart Lamp.”

The award, worth £50,000, was announced during a ceremony held at the Tate Modern in London on Tuesday night.

Translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, Heart Lamp is the first Kannada-language book ever to win the International Booker Prize. The collection, consist of 12 short stories, spans over three decades of writing (1990–2023) and offers intimate, powerful portrayals of women navigating patriarchal structures in southern India.

The stories were praised by the judges for being “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating,” capturing complex family and community dynamics with emotional depth and cultural nuance.

“This book was born from the belief that no story is ever small,” said Mushtaq in her acceptance speech.

She further added that “In a divided world, literature remains one of the last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other’s minds, even for a few pages.”

Translator Deepa Bhasthi, who curated the collection, celebrated the recognition of Kannada literature on a global platform. “What a beautiful win this is for my beautiful language,” she said.

Chair of judges Max Porter described Heart Lamp as “a radical translation” that expands the boundaries of English literary expression. “This was the book the judges loved right from the start,” he said. “It challenges and redefines our idea of what translation can be.”

One of the unique features of the book is its multilingual texture. Words and phrases in Urdu and Arabic are left untranslated in dialogue, reflecting the linguistic reality of southern India and preserving the authentic voice of the characters.

Fiammetta Rocco, Administrator of the International Booker Prize, highlighted the significance of the win: “These stories, written over 30 years by a tireless advocate for women’s rights and translated with care and creativity, speak powerfully to our times.”

Each shortlisted author and translator receives £5,000, while the winning amount is shared equally between Mushtaq and Bhasthi.

This is the second Indian win in the history of the International Booker Prize. 

In 2022, Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell won for the Hindi novel Tomb of Sand. Tamil writer Perumal Murugan’s Pyre was longlisted in 2023.

The International Booker Prize annually honours the finest works of fiction translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland, celebrating the literary achievements of both authors and translators.