Deepa Bhasthi

International Booker Prize winner

About

Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and International Booker Prize winning literary translator working in Kannada and English. Deepa is the first Indian translator and the first translator of colour to be awarded the International Booker Prize. Born (1983) in Madikeri, Deepa Bhasthi graduated from Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa College there and then earned a postgraduate degree in journalism from Mangalore University. She worked as a journalist for various print media outlets in Bangalore. Her cultural criticism, essays, columns and journalism have been published extensively in Indian and international publications, anthologies and art book projects. She is the author of a children’s book ‘Champi and the Fig Tree’ in Kannada and English. Her published translations from Kannada include works by Kota Shivarama Karanth (The Same Village, The Same Tree), Kodagina Gouramma (Fate’s Game and Other Stories) and Banu Mushtaq (Heart Lamp – Selected Stories). She is the recipient of the PEN English Translation Award 2024 for Heart Lamp – Selected Stories and the prestigious International Booker Prize 2025, shared with Banu Mushtaq. She was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Awards. Deepa is married to artist Nanaiah Chettira. They live on their farm in Madikeri.

Key Achievements

• International Booker Prize winner
• PEN English Translation Award 2024 for Heart Lamp – Selected Stories

Video

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The International Booker Prize 2025 Ceremony