London: Karnataka-based writer, activist and lawyer Banu Mushtaq’s short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’, translated from Kannada to English by Deepa Bhasthi,  has been long-listed for the International Booker Prize 2025 in London.

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 long-list of the GBP 50,000 literary prize — divided between the author and translator.

“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. 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.

Six books short-listed from the long-list for this year’s prize will be announced on Apr.8, with each short-listed title awarded a prize of GBP 5,000 — shared between author and translator.

The announcement of 2025 winning title will take place on May 20 at Tate Modern in London, with the winning author receiving GBP 25,000 and translator or translators dividing the other half of GBP 25,000.