Deepa Bhasthi

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