Audience members rejoiced as Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp was announced as the winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 on Tuesday, 20 May.
The Indian author’s award for her short story collection marks the first win for a title translated from Kannada, a major language spoken by an estimated 65 million people.
Mushtaq, a lawyer and activist, will split the £50,000 prize money with Deepa Bhasthi, the book’s translator.
Heart Lamp centres on 12 short stories about the experiences of Muslim women living in southern India.
