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Kannada debut: Banu Mushtaq features in Booker Prize Longlist
The book, which explores the lives of marginalized women in Muslim communities in southern India, marks a historic first for Kannada literature to be longlisted for the International Booker Prize.
Banu Mushtaq. / And Other Stories.
Indian author Banu Mushtaq has been longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize for her short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’, translated from Kannada into English by Deepa Bhasthi. The book, which explores the lives of marginalized women in Muslim communities in southern India, marks a historic first for Kannada literature on the prestigious global stage.
Mushtaq, a prominent voice in progressive Kannada literature, has previously won the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award for her contributions to Indian literature. Originally published between 1990 and 2023, the 12 stories in ‘Heart Lamp’ offer deeply personal yet politically charged narratives. The collection first gained international recognition when it won the PEN Presents award in 2024, a scheme by English PEN that highlights translations from underrepresented languages and regions.
The International Booker Prize judges praised ‘Heart Lamp’ for its evocative storytelling and social impact. “Exploring the lives of those often on the periphery of society – girls and women in Muslim communities in southern India – these vivid stories hold immense emotional and moral weight,” they noted.
A milestone for Kannada literature
This year’s longlist features books translated from 10 languages, with Kannada making its first-ever appearance. Kannada, spoken by approximately 38 million people, joins an expanding roster of world literature gaining recognition through translation.
Mushtaq’s translator, Deepa Bhasthi, an Indian writer and translator, has been instrumental in bringing the book to an English-speaking audience. The UK-based imprint And Other Stories published ‘Heart Lamp’.
Internationally diverse longlist
The 2025 International Booker Prize longlist includes 13 authors, all making their debut on the prize’s roster. Among them are three debut authors and eight writers whose works are being published in English for the first time. The selection spans 11 novels and two short story collections, highlighting the diversity of contemporary international fiction.
The longlist was chosen by a panel led by Max Porter, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers. He is joined by poet and filmmaker Caleb Femi, publishing director Sana Goyal, author and translator Anton Hur, and award-winning singer-songwriter Beth Orton.
Porter emphasized the universal appeal of translated literature, saying, “Translated fiction is not an elite or rarefied cultural space requiring expert knowledge; it is the exact opposite. It is stories of every conceivable kind from everywhere, for everyone. It is a miraculous way in which we might meet one another in all our strangeness and sameness, and defy the borders erected between us.”
The 2025 longlist introduces 13 authors new to the International Booker Prize, including two debut novelists (Hunchback and There’s a Monster Behind the Door) and one debut short story collection (Reservoir Bitches). Eight books are appearing in English for the first time, including Heart Lamp, Hunchback, On a Woman’s Madness, Perfection, Reservoir Bitches, Small Boat, The Book of Disappearance, and There’s a Monster Behind the Door.
The International Booker Prize, which celebrates global literature in translation, awards $54000 (£50,000), split equally between the author and translator. The shortlist will be announced in April 2025, with the winner revealed in May.
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