Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize 2025

Writer, activist and lawyer Banu Mushtaq's short story collection 'Heart Lamp' on Tuesday night became the first Kannada title to win the coveted GBP 50,000 International Booker Prize in London.

Mushtaq described her win as a victory for diversity as she collected the prize at a ceremony at Tate Modern along with her translator Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the title from Kannada to English.

Shortlisted among six worldwide titles, Mushtaq's work appealed to the judges for its "witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating" style of capturing portraits of family and community tensions.