We’re thrilled to announce that Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp, translated from the Kannada language by Deepa Bhasthi, has been shortlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize. In a happy coincidence, today also marks the official publication of Heart Lamp, so doubly cause for celebration. The judges praised the work of both writer and translator in the following manner:
These stories speak truth to power and slice through the fault lines of caste, class, and religion widespread in contemporary society, exposing the rot within: corruption, oppression, injustice, violence. Yet, at its heart, Heart Lamp returns us to the true, great pleasures of reading: solid storytelling, unforgettable characters, vivid dialogue, tensions simmering under the surface, and a surprise at each turn. Deceptively simple, these stories hold immense emotional, moral, and socio-political weight, urging us to dig deeper.
A founder member of the progressive literary movement Bandaya Sahitya Sanghatane, whose adherents challenged the male-centric and upper-caste status quo of Indian writing in the 70s and 80s, Banu Mushtaq writes, with compassion and humour, from the heart of the communities in which she lives and works. Her writing is, in the words of the writer Joshua Jones, marked by a ‘tender heart’ and ‘sharp eye for nuance’.
With first the Booker long- and now the shortlisting, we’re in the wild position of sending a third order for the book to the printers by publication date – a first for us. Due to the cyber attack on our printers, many of the copies are yet to hit bookshops, but rest assured: they’re coming. Please do order it from bricks-and-mortar shops where you can, it will encourage them to support the book.
The winner will be announced at London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday 20 May. We offer our congratulations to all of the longlisted writers, translators and publishers. It’s an honour to be in such company.
For any enquiries regarding foreign rights (international English-language and translation rights), please email stefantobler@andotherstories.org.