Heart Lamp, a collection of short stories by Indian author Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, has won the 2025 International Booker Prize, marking the first time a short story anthology has claimed the prestigious award.
The £50,000 prize, split equally between Mushtaq and Bhasthi, was announced at a ceremony at London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday night. Max Porter, chair of the judging panel and a Booker-longlisted author himself, hailed the book as “something genuinely new for English readers: a radical translation” of “beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories.”
Earlier, from a long list of 13, six novels had been shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker prize.
A Landmark Win for Kannada Literature
Originally written in Kannada, the language spoken in Karnataka, Heart Lamp compiles 12 powerful stories written by Mushtaq over three decades (1990–2023). Bhasthi, the first Indian translator to win the International Booker, curated the selection from nearly 50 stories across six collections, bringing Mushtaq’s piercing narratives to a global audience.
The stories explore the lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India, drawing from Mushtaq’s experiences as a lawyer and activist fighting caste oppression and gender inequality.
“(Mushtaq’s writing is) at once witty, vivid, moving and excoriating, building disconcerting emotional heights out of a rich spoken style. It’s in her characters — the sparky children, the audacious grandmothers, the buffoonish maulvis [a learned teacher or doctor of Islamic law] and thug brothers, the oft-hapless husbands, and the mothers above all, surviving their feelings at great cost — that she emerges as an astonishing writer and observer of human nature.” – Booker jury
Who Are Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi?
Banu Mushtaq, a prominent voice in progressive Kannada literature, is known for her legal activism and advocacy for marginalised women. Many of her stories were inspired by women who sought her legal help, making Heart Lamp a deeply personal and political work.
Deepa Bhasthi, an accomplished translator, has broken new ground as the first Indian translator to win the International Booker. Her work ensures Kannada—a language spoken by 65 million people—gains well-deserved global recognition.
What Makes This Win Significant?
- First short story collection to win the International Booker.
- First book translated from Kannada to even be nominated.
- Second Indian author to win, after Geetanjali Shree (2022).
- First victory for indie publisher And Other Stories, based in Sheffield.
“These beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories rise from Kannada, interspersed with the extraordinary socio-political richness of other languages and dialects. It speaks of women’s lives, reproductive rights, faith, caste, power and oppression.” – Chair, International Booker Prize 2025 judges
The International Booker vs. The Booker Prize
While the Booker Prize rewards English-language fiction, the International Booker celebrates translated works. The £50,000 prize is shared equally between author and translator, highlighting translation as an art form.
“This book was born from the belief that no story is ever small; that in the tapestry of human experience, every thread holds the weight of the whole,” she said. “In a world that often tries to divide us, literature remains one of the last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other’s minds, if only for a few pages.” – Banu Mushtaq in her acceptance speech
A New Chapter for Indian Literature
Mushtaq’s win cements India’s growing influence in global literary circles, following Shree’s 2022 triumph for Tomb of Sand. For Kannada literature, this is a historic moment, proving regional stories can resonate worldwide.
As Heart Lamp prepares for wider distribution, readers can expect a bold, feminist, and deeply human collection—one that challenges oppression while celebrating resilience.
