Banu Mushtaq’s 'Heart Lamp' wins this year’s International Booker Prize
Writer and activist Banu Mushtaq, 77, made history on Tuesday by winning the International Booker Prize for 'Heart Lamp', a short story collection originally written in Kannada.
This marks the first time a Kannada-language author has received the award and the first time a short story collection has been honoured.
Mushtaq shares the $67,000 prize with translator Deepa Bhasthi, the first Indian translator to win the prize since its current format began in 2016. The collection, spanning works from 1990 to 2023, explores themes such as caste, patriarchy, and women's rights with sharp wit and multilingual depth.
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At the London ceremony, juror Max Porter praised 'Heart Lamp' as "something genuinely new for English readers." Mushtaq called the recognition "a collective honour," likening it to "a thousand fireflies lighting a single sky."
