Muscat – Indian author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi have won the International Booker Prize for fiction for ‘Heart Lamp’, a collection of 12 short stories that capture the everyday lives and struggles of women in southern India.

The award was announced on Tuesday at a ceremony held at London’s Tate Modern. The event was hosted by author Max Porter, chair of the five-member judging panel.

It is the first time the prize has been awarded to a short story collection. Deepa is the first Indian translator – and the ninth woman – to receive the award since the prize adopted its current format in 2016. Banu is the sixth female author to win the honour.

Written in Kannada, a language spoken by people in southern India, the stories span more than three decades – from 1990 to 2023 – and were curated and translated by Deepa.

Porter described the translation as “radical”, and said it had been a joy to witness the jury’s evolving appreciation of the work. “These beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories rise from Kannada, interspersed with the extraordinary socio-political richness of other languages and dialects,” he said. “It speaks of women’s lives, reproductive rights, faith, caste, power and oppression.”

‘Heart Lamp’ was selected from a shortlist of six titles.