London

The short story collection 'Heart Lamp' by Karnataka-based writer, activist and lawyer Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada to English by Deepa Bhasthi, was on Tuesday longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025 in London, PTI reported.

Chosen among 13 worldwide titles, Mushtaq's work appealed to the judges for its "witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating" style of capturing portraits of family and community tensions. It marks the first time a Kannada title has made it to the longlist of the GBP 50,000 literary prize divided between author and translator.

Banu Mushtaq

"Exploring the lives of those often on the periphery of society, these vivid stories hold immense emotional and moral weight, the judges said of Mushtaq and Bhasthi's Heart Lamp'. Its 12 stories set in the Muslim communities of southern India and published originally between 1990 and 2023 will now go head-to-head with authors from across the world. While the author described it as a tremendous honour for literature in the Kannada language, the translator said she was beyond thrilled.

Banu Mushtaq's book 'Heart Lamp'

"This recognition is not just personal but a significant moment for Kannada literature. That the everyday experiences of South Indian women building lives under patriarchal pressures have resonated with the distinguished jury, and hopefully, will soon reach a global readership, is both humbling and affirming. It is a testament to the universality of Banu Mushtaq's stories and to the power of translation, Bhasthi said in a statement released by publishers Penguin from Delhi.

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The annual prize celebrates the best works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between May 2024 and April 2025. Penguin said it will be releasing Heart Lamp' in the Indian subcontinent in April.