A Shift for Indian Literature in Translation: Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi Win International Booker

At a ceremony held at London’s Tate Modern on May 20, Heart Lamp, a collection of short stories by Banu Mushtaq and translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, was awarded the 2025 International Booker Prize. It is the first short story collection to win the award and the first Kannada work to be recognised in the prize’s history.

The £50,000 prize is shared equally between author and translator, in keeping with the award’s focus on the importance of translation in bringing international fiction to English-language readers. For Indian literature, it is a significant development. Just three years after Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell won the same prize for Tomb of Sand, this year’s recognition of Heart Lamp reinforces the growing presence of Indian-language writing in global literary spaces.

Which country has won the most International Bookers? It’s India! Here’s the year-by-year list from 2016 to 2025: South Korea. Israel. Poland. Oman. Netherlands. France. India. Bulgaria. Germany. India. @TheBookerPrizes

— Arunava Sinha (@arunava) May 21, 2025

Mushtaq’s stories, written over more than three decades, focus on the lives of women and girls in southern India. Drawing from her work as a lawyer and long-time observer of the social and legal systems affecting women, the stories are grounded in daily realities and shaped by questions of gender, caste, and community. While she has been a known voice in Kannada literature for years, this is the first time her work has reached an international audience at this scale.

Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the stories into English, is the first Indian translator to win the International Booker. Her translation has been noted for its clarity and attention to tone, keeping the stories rooted in their original context while making them accessible to new readers. Her work adds to a growing interest in literary translation from Indian languages, which has often existed on the margins of Indian publishing.

And so it happens. Heart Lamp makes history by winning the International @TheBookerPrizes 2025, the first short story collection to ever do so. What a radical moment for literature, women and protest. The revolution, it seems, will be published after all. pic.twitter.com/PVelnnbQuc

— Manasi Subramaniam (@sorcerical) May 20, 2025

The win is also a milestone for And Other Stories, the independent UK publisher behind the English edition of Heart Lamp, and their first Booker victory. It reflects a broader shift in global publishing where small presses and regional languages are beginning to receive more attention.

What a massive achievement—a Kannada short story collection about the everyday violent erasure of women and/in Muslim communities at a time when Indian society is solely grounded on majoritarian politics of hate. @TheBookerPrizes winner 2025! pic.twitter.com/Sxm9gFKFoC

— Kartik (@karteakk) May 21, 2025

That Heart Lamp is a short story collection also marks a departure from the kind of work that usually dominates international prizes. The stories are not linked by plot but by recurring themes and perspectives, offering glimpses into lives often left out of mainstream narratives.

We are so proud of them. Deepa Bhasthi and Banu Mushtaq, winners of this year’s International Booker Prize. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/E4l3xn6Dor

— And Other Stories (@andothertweets) May 20, 2025

This award adds to a pattern. Indian writing in translation, once limited in global reach, is slowly gaining visibility. For Kannada literature, it opens the possibility of more translations and readers. For Indian translators, it adds recognition to a field that is essential but often overlooked. And for publishers, it’s a reminder that there are strong literary voices outside the usual centres of language and geography.

Woman reader in the rural public library reads the news of Banu Mushtaq’s International Booker Prize. 🌷🌿📚 pic.twitter.com/baEj2LMYpD

— Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta (@readingkafka) May 22, 2025

What Heart Lamp represents, above all, is the value of listening to stories from different corners of the world—and of making sure those stories are told with care.