No Story Is Ever ‘Small’: Banu Mushtaq's International Booker Acceptance Speech

Banu Mushtaq's acceptance speech for the International Booker prize that she won with her translator Deepa Bhasthi was published by one of her publishers, And Other Stories. In it, Mushtaq notes the importance of the 'local' and the largeness of what we are quick to label 'small'.

The full text is reproduced below. 

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If I may borrow a phrase from my own culture: this moment feels like a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky – brief, brilliant, and utterly collective. To even stand among these extraordinary finalists is an honour I’ll never forget. And I accept this great honour not as an individual, but as a voice raised in chorus with so many others.

I am happy for the entire world which is full of diversity and inclusiveness. I am happy for myself and my translator Deepa Bhasthi. This is more than a personal achievement – it is an affirmation that we, as individuals and as a global community, can thrive when we embrace diversity, celebrate our differences, and uplift one another. Together, we create a world where every voice is heard, every story matters, and every person belongs.

First, to the Booker Prize committee – thank you for recognising stories that dare to bridge worlds. To my relentless team: my visionary literary agent, Kanishka Gupta, who believed in this book before it had a heartbeat; my translator, Deepa Bhasthi, who turned my words into bridges; and my publishers – especially Penguin Random House and And Other Stories – who sent these stories sailing across languages and borders. This is your victory too. And to my family, friends, and readers: you are the soil where my stories grow.

This book is my love letter to the idea that no story is ‘local’ – that a tale born under a banyan tree in my village can cast shadows as far as this stage to night. To every reader who journeyed with me: you’ve made my Kannada language a shared home. It is a language that sings of resilience and nuance. To write in Kannada is to inherit a legacy of cosmic wonder and earthly wisdom.

This book was born from the belief that no story is ever ‘small’ – that in the tapestry of human experience, every thread holds the weight of the whole. In a world that often tries to divide us, literature remains one of the last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other’s minds, if only for a few pages. To every reader who trusted me with their time: thank you for letting my words wander into your heart.

Tonight isn’t an endpoint – it’s a torch passed. May it light the way for more stories from unheard corners, more translations that defy borders, and more voices that remind us: the universe fits inside every ‘I.’ Thank you, from the depths of my soul.

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