Short story collection wins International Booker Prize for the first time
The winners of the International Booker Prize were announced at a ceremony at London’s Tate Modern on May 20, 2025. For the first time in the prize’s history, the award went to a short story collection, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports, citing the Booker Prize.
The book Heart Lamp by Indian writer Banu Mushtaqcomprises 12 stories originally published in the Kannada language between 1990 and 2023, immersing readers in the daily lives of women and girls in Muslim communities across southern India.
Notably, many of the stories are based on real accounts from women who sought Mushtaq's legal assistance. Beyond her writing, she is recognized as a lawyer, journalist, and fierce advocate for women's rights who challenges caste and religious oppression in India.
Banu Mushtaq is the second Indian writer to receive the International Booker Prize, following Geetanjali Shree’s win in 2022. Heart Lamp also marks the first Kannada-language book to be shortlisted for this prestigious award. The £50,000 prize money will be split equally between the author and the translator.
The International Booker Prize annually celebrates the finest translated works published in the United Kingdom or Ireland, acknowledging both the literary merit of the original text and the excellence of the translation.
Last year, the International Booker Prize was awarded to Kairos by German author Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann. The novel tells the story of a destructive love affair between a young woman and an older man in 1980s East Berlin, symbolizing the collapse of East Germany’s ideals.
Earlier, Kazinform News Agency reported on the 8th Eurasian Book Fair 2025 in Astana, hosted by the Presidential Center.