Signed copies of book in London in Kannada, says Booker prize winner Banu Mushtaq

Banu Mushtaq, a writer, lawyer and activist, began writing about her people, their joys, sorrows and anxieties, over five decades ago. On May 20, Heart Lamp, a collection of 12 short stories selected from her work written between 1990 and 2023 and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the International Booker Prize for 2025.

International Booker award recipient Banu Mushtaq was felicitated by the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists in Bengaluru on May 28.

Banu Mushtaq, a writer, lawyer and activist, began writing about her people, their joys, sorrows and anxieties, over five decades ago. On May 20, Heart Lamp, a collection of 12 short stories selected from her work written between 1990 and 2023 and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the International Booker Prize for 2025.

During the felicitation, among other things, she shared her experience of travelling to London. ”In London, whoever approached me to sign their copy of ‘Heart Lamp’, I signed them in Kannada. The other shortlisted writers were masters degree holders. I was the only one to be a grassroots writer.”

Apart from being a renowned writer, she is an advocate by profession. However, she started her career as a journalist for the Lankesh Patrike, and had a four decade-long stint in journalism. 

‘Heart Lamp’ was a major success in the field of literature earning a huge profit of ₹6 crore for Penguin publishers. Heart lamp will be translated to 35 languages.

According to Banu Mushtaq, “People, irrespective of caste, race and community, were celebrating my success. Following the success of the book, many filmmakers had approached me for film rights.”

Girish Kasaravalli, a renowned director, made a film based on Kari Nagaragalu, one of the short stories in the book. The film was called Hasina, and won a national award for best actor.