For the first time in history, a Kannada book has made it to the International Booker Prize longlist. Banu Mushtaq’s short story collection, Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, is among the 13 books selected for the 2025 International Booker Prize longlist.
Key Highlights
Heart Lamp is a collection of stories originally published between 1990 and 2023, focusing on the lives of Muslim women in South India and exploring familial and communal tensions.
First-ever Kannada nomination for the International Booker Prize in its current format. . This milestone highlights the rich literary heritage of regional Indian languages.
U.R. Ananthamurthy was previously longlisted in 2013 for the Man Booker International Prize, the earlier version of this award.
The 2025 longlist consists of 13 books (11 novels and 2 short story collections), chosen by a panel chaired by Max Porter.
This year’s longlist features authors and translators from 15 nationalities, with translations from 10 languages, including Kannada and Romanian for the first time.
Notable Indian Precedents:
- In 2022, Geetanjali Shree’s Hindi novel “Tomb of Sand”, translated by Daisy Rockwell, won the International Booker Prize—the first-ever Hindi novel to receive the honor.
- In 2023, Perumal Murugan’s Tamil novel “Pyre”, translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, was longlisted.
About the International Booker Prize
One of the world’s most prestigious awards for translated fiction.
Recognizes long-form fiction and short story collections translated into English and published in the UK and Ireland.
Prize Money:
- £50,000 total—split equally between the author and translator (£25,000 each).
- Shortlisted books receive £5,000 each (£2,500 each for author and translator).