Banu Mushtaq was born and brought up in Hassan, Karnataka. She began her literary journey in the 1970s, becoming a strong voice in Kannada literature with stories and poems focusing on women and marginalized communities. Alongside her writing, she trained and worked as a lawyer, practicing for over 30 years. Her early work gained recognition within the Bandaya (protest) literary movement. She has received several prestigious honours including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award. Her story Karinaagaragalu inspired the Kannada film Haseena directed by Girish Kasaravalli, which won the Golden Lotus National Award and was screened internationally. In 2024, the English translation of her stories won the PEN Translates Award. Then in 2025, her collection of short stories, Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the International Booker Prize, the first Kannada work to win this prestigious award. She has served on literary bodies such as the Karnataka Sahitya Academy, the Central Sahitya Academy and as State Secretary of the Kannada Sahitya Parishad. The Karnataka State Information and Publicity Department also produced a documentary on her life and achievements. She continues to live and practice law in Hassan, where she remains committed to advocating for women’s rights and social justice through both her writing and legal work.
