Indian author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi won the International Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday for “Heart Lamp,” a collection of 12 short stories written over a period of more than 30 years and which chronicle the everyday lives and struggles of women in southern India.

Indian writer-lawyer-activist Banu Mushtaq has scripted history by winning the International Booker prize for the short story anthology, Heart Lamp. It is the first book written in the Kannada language,

In a milestone for regional Indian literature, writer, advocate and activist Banu Mushtaq won the International Booker Prize 2025 for her Kannada short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’ on May 20, becoming the first Kannada author to be awarded the literary honour.