International Bookers Prize

Miscellaneous

Heart Lamp, a short story collection by Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq, won the 2025 International Booker Prize.

The International Booker Prize is a prestigious global literary award for the best single work of fiction written in English.
Established in the UK in 1969, it originally focused on Commonwealth writers but is now open to authors worldwide.
Eligibility requires the novel to be an original English work, published in the UK or Ireland by a registered publisher within the award year; translations and self-published works are excluded.
The winner receives £50,000, while shortlisted authors get £2,500 each.
The Booker Prize Foundation, a registered charity since 2002, manages the prize along with the Man Booker International Prize since 2005.
Max Porter, chair of the judging panel, announced the International Booker Prize at London’s Tate Modern.

About the Book: Heart Lamp

Author: Banu Mushtaq
Translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi.
Heart Lamp is the first short story collection to receive this prestigious prize.
Stories in the collection explore themes like women’s experiences, reproductive rights, faith, caste, power, and oppression.
The narratives are rooted in Kannada culture and enriched by diverse dialects and socio-political depth.

Deepa Bhastthi and Banu Mushtaq

About Banu Mushtaq

Banu Mushtaq, raised in Karnataka, is fluent in both Urdu and Kannada.
Starting her career as a journalist, she later pursued law and became a lawyer.
She is actively involved in the Bandaya Movement, which uses literature to drive social change.