For the first time in history, Indian writer Banu Mushtaq, who writes in Kannada, won the Man Booker Prize in 2025 with her collection of short stories Heart Lamp. This was reported by the BBC.
Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq became the first collection of short stories to receive the prestigious award.
It includes 12 short stories written by Mushtaq from 1990 to 2023. In her works, the writer highlights the difficulties of Muslim women living in southern India. The jury praised the characters, calling them “amazing portraits of survival and resilience.”
Deepa Bhasti, the first Indian translator to win the International Booker Prize, translated the stories into English from Kannada, the language spoken in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
She and Mushtaq will share the £50,000 prize.