43 Malayalam short story writers

Priya A. S. is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Hers oeuvre consists of short stories, children's literature, translations and memoirs. She has translated Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things into Malayalam under the title Kunju Karyangalude Odeythampuran of which Roy herself has said that although there have been translations in several languages, no other translation is as important to her as this, as it is the language of the novel's central characters.

John Abraham was a Malayali Indian filmmaker, short story writer and screenwriter. Abraham is ranked among the greatest Indian film directors. His film Amma Ariyan (1986) was the only south Indian feature film to make the list of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time by British Film Institute. Agraharathil Kazhuthai was listed among the "100 Greatest Indian Films" of all time by IBN Live's 2013 poll.

Pathrose Ayyaneth, popularly known as P. Ayyaneth, was a Malayalam-language novelist, short story writer and poet from Kerala, India. Born in 1928 at Nariyapuram, Pathanamthitta, Ayyaneth graduated in mathematics and worked as a teacher, journalist and government employee. After retiring as assistant director of the Bureau of Economics and Statistics, he practised as a lawyer. His entered the literary field with a poem titled Parimalam, written at the age of 15. He soon began writing prose. Many of his novels appeared as serials in periodicals in 1960s and 1970s. A prolific writer, he had penned 40 novels, 10 short story collections, a few plays and articles. His widely read novels included Manushya Nee Mannakunnu, Thiruseshippu and Vazhvemayam. Six of his novels have become films. Ayyaneth died in a hospital on 17 June 2008 of injuries suffered in a road accident. He was hit by a scooter while he was crossing the road near his house in Kumarapuram.

C. V. Balakrishnan is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. His novels and short stories encompass the emotional issues related to mass culture, sexual politics, fate of the marginalised and institutionalised religions. An author of more than 40 literary works along with a few film scripts and film criticisms, his best known work is the novel Ayussinte Pusthakam. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award thrice and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Book on Cinema in 2002 for Cinemayude Idangal. In 2014, he won the Padmaprabha Literary Award.

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, also known as Beypore Sultan, was an Indian independence activist and writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, down-to-earth style of writing that made him equally popular among literary critics as well as the common man. His notable works include Balyakalasakhi, Shabdangal, Pathummayude Aadu, Mathilukal, Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu, Janmadinam and Anargha Nimisham and the translations of his works into other languages have earned him worldwide acclaim. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honor of the Padma Shri in 1982. He was also a recipient of the Sahitya Academy Fellowship, Kerala Sahitya Academy Fellowship, and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Story.

Cherukad Govinda Pisharodi, commonly known as Cherukad, was a Malayalam-language playwright, novelist, poet and political activist, associated with the Communist movement in Kerala state, India.

V. M. Devadas is a Malayalam novelist, short story writer and screenwriter from Wadakkancherry, Kerala, India. He is presently working in an IT company in Chennai.

Shahina E. K. is an Indian contemporary short story writer from Kerala. She is one of the notable writers in Malayalam literature. She was born in Perinthalmanna, Malappuram district in Kerala. Her stories speak about the common people and the issues related with them. The author’s way of writing is very sharp and powerful.

Kudiyirikkal Narayanan Ezhuthachan, commonly known as Dr.K.N.Ezhuthachan was an Indian writer and scholar of Malayalam literature. He was one among the principal followers of the idea of social impact on literature. Ezhuthachan supported Marxist literary criticism. And interpreted Indian literary works based on Marxist aesthetics. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his work Keralodayam, a long narrative poem written in Sanskrit. He is the first Malayali to win Sahitya Akademi Award in sanskrit literature. He died on 28 October 1981 while delivering a lecture at Calicut University.

S. Hareesh is an Indian writer, translator and screenwriter of Malayalam literature and cinema. He is best known for his short stories and his acclaimed but controversial debut novel, Meesha, which explores caste in Kerala in the mid-20th century. The novel, initially serialized in the Mathrubhumi weekly, was withdrawn after protests by right-wing Hindutva groups and caste-community organizations. It was later published as a full novel by DC Books. Hareesh is the recipient of several honours including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel and the Geetha Hiranyan Endowment of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi. In November 2020, it was announced that the English translation of Meesha, titled Moustache, would receive the JCB Prize for Literature, the Indian literary award with the highest prize money..

Sarah Joseph is an Indian novelist and short story writer in Malayalam. She won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Aalahayude Penmakkal. She also received the Vayalar Award for the same novel. Sarah has been at the forefront of the feminist movement in Kerala and is the founder of Manushi. She and Madhavikutty are considered among the leading women writers in Malayalam. She joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 and contested the 2014 parliament elections from Thrissur.

Joy J. Kaimaparamban is an Indian novelist writing mainly in Malayalam. Born to a middle-class family of Kerala, India, Kaimaparamban became an English teacher and served in many schools in Kerala. He started his literary career at a young age and is still writing. He now lives in Vayalar, a small village in Alappuzha (Alleppey) district with his wife and two children. He has written several novels, some plays, and more than 100 short stories in his mother tongue, Malayalam. All of them were published through DC Books and SPCS, Kottayam. All India Radio has broadcast several of his short stories and dramas. He won an award in the name of Rabindranath Tagore, established by DC Books Kottayam in 1977, for his first novel Urayoorunna Pakalukal, and won the Kunkumam Prize in 1990, for his novel Theerabhoomikal. The Azure of Solicitude was his first novel in English, published by America print on demand publisher PublishAmerica September 2009. The Ayurvedic Healer is his second novel in English published by Copperhill Media Corporation. The Snake Charmer and the King Cobra is a collection of 30 short stories, published by Copperhill Media Corporation in 2013.

George Varghese Kakkanadan, commonly known as Kakkanadan, was an Indian short story writer and novelist in the Malayalam language. His works made break from the neo-realism that dominated Malayalam literature through the 1950s and 1960s. He is often credited with laying the foundation of modernism in Malayalam literature. He is a recipient of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards in addition to numerous other awards and recognitions.

U. A. Khader is an Indian author. He has published in Malayalam, including novels, novellas, short stories, travelogues and non-fiction. His works have been translated to various languages including English, Hindi and Kannada.

U. K. Kumaran is a Malayalam-language novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist from Kerala, India. He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Vayalar Award.

Madampu Sankaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Madampu Kunjukuttan, is a Malayalam author and a screenplay writer. His novels, short stories and screenplays speaks more about the Kerala society. He has won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay in the year 2000 for the Malayalam film Karunam, directed by Jayaraj. In 2003, he won the Ashdod International Film Award for Best Screenplay for the film Parinamam directed by P.Venu. He received Sanjayan Award in 2014.He is famous for being the host of TV show E4 Elephant along with Sreekumar Arookutty on Kairali TV.

N. S. Madhavan is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his novel, Lanthan Batheriyile Luthiniyakal and a host of short stories such as Higuita, Thiruthu, Chulaimedile Shavangal and Vanmarangal Veezhumpol, Madhavan also writes football columns and travel articles. He is a distinguished fellow of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several major awards including Odakkuzhal Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Muttathu Varkey Award, Mathrubhumi Literary Award and Crossword Book Award.

Madhupal is an Indian film actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. Madhupal made his acting debut with Kashmeeram in 1994 and his directorial debut with Thalappavu (2008), which was about Naxal Varghese and won several awards in 2008.

K. R. Meera is an Indian author and journalist, who writes in Malayalam. She was born in Sasthamkotta, Kollam district in Kerala. She worked as a journalist in Malayala Manorama but later resigned to concentrate more on writing. She started writing fiction in 2001 and her first short story collection Ormayude Njarambu was published in 2002. Since then she has published five collections of short stories, two novellas, five novels and two children's books. She won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for her short-story, Ave Maria. Her novel Aarachaar (2012) is widely regarded as one of the best literary works produced in Malayalam language. It received several awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (2013), Odakkuzhal Award (2013), Vayalar Award (2014) and Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award (2015). It was also shortlisted for the 2016 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.

Maniyambath Mukundan, commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mayyazhi which has earned him the moniker, Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran. He is known to be one of the pioneers of modernity in Malayalam literature and Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil, Daivathinte Vikrithikal, Kesavante Vilapangal and Pravasam are some of his notable works. He has received many honours including Vayalar Award, Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. Crossword Book Award and the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literacy honour of the Government of Kerala. He is also a recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of the Government of France.

Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. He was born in Kudallur, a small village in the present day Anakkara panchayath in Pattambi Taluk, Palakkad district (Palghat), which was under the Malabar District in the Madras Presidency of the British Raj. He shot into fame at the age of 20 when, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His debut novel Naalukettu, wrote at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu and Randamoozham. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.

Raj Nair is an Indian author and filmmaker who writes in his native language Malayalam and English.

Narayan is an Indian author best known for his debut novel Kocharethi (1998). Most of Narayan's novels deal with the lives of the tribal communities of Kerala. He belongs to the Malayarayar tribe and is considered Kerala's first tribal novelist.

Thinakkal Padmanabhan, popularly known as T. Padmanabhan, is an Indian short story writer of Malayalam literature. He is a recipient of several awards including the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala. He declined some of the earlier awards he was selected for which include Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (1973), Odakkuzhal Award (1995) and Sahitya Akademi Award (1996). Mahatma Gandhi University conferred on him the honoris causa degree of the Doctor of Letters in 2018.

Kizhakkepainummoodu Easo Mathai, better known by his nom de plume Parappurath (1924–1981), was an Indian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Malayalam language. His body of work comprises 20 novels, 14 short story anthologies and 15 screenplays. He was a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story (1966), Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel (1968) and Kerala State Film Award for Best Story, besides other honours. He died on 30 December 1981

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 600 short stories focusing on the lives of the oppressed classes. Known for his works such as Kayar and Chemmeen, Pillai was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award. He was also a recipient of the Jnanpith, India's highest literary award, awarded in 1984 for the novel Kayar.

N. N. Pisharody was a director in the Malayalam Film industry. He was born into a feudal family, known as "Kallil" in Methala, near Perumbavoor in Kerala.

Sankaran Kutty Kunjiraman Pottekkatt, popularly known as S. K. Pottekkatt, was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature and a politician from Kerala, India. He was also a great traveller among the Keralites, who wrote many travelogues for the people who have been unintroduced to the outside world. He was the author of nearly sixty books which include ten novels, twenty-four collections of short stories, three anthologies of poems, eighteen travelogues, four plays, a collection of essays and a couple of books based on personal reminiscences. he was a recipient of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Sahitya Akademi Award and the Jnanpith Award. His works have been translated into English, Italian, Russian, German and Czech, besides all major Indian languages.

Kiliroor Radhakrishnan is a short-story writer of Malayalam literature.

K. V. Ramakrishna Iyer, better known by his nom de plume, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, cartoonist, lawyer, judicial magistrate, and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He was best known for his novels, short stories and biographical sketches and his works include Yanthram, Verukal, Yakshi and Service Story – Ente IAS Dinangal. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1967. He was also a recipient of the Vayalar Award in 1971.

K. P. Ramanunni (Malayalam:കെ.പി.രാമനുണ്ണി) is a novelist and short-story writer from Kerala, India. His first novel Sufi Paranja Katha won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995 and the novel Daivathinte Pusthakam won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2017. Jeevithathinte Pusthakam won the 2011 Vayalar Award.

K. Rekha is a Malayalam short story writer and jo‌urnalist.

Vijayamma Rajappan Sankar, commonly known as Sankar, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, short story writer and novelist who works in Malayalam cinema and literature.

V. R. Sudheesh is a Malayalam–language short story writer from Kerala, India.

B. M. Suhara is a Malayalam writer from Kerala, India. She was born in Thikkodi near Calicut.

M. Sukumaran (1943–2018) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, best known for his novels and short stories with political undertones. Marichittillathavarude Smarakangal, Seshakriya, Chuvanna Chihnangal and Janithakam feature among his works and five of his stories have been adapted into films. A two time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Story, Sukumaran received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story in 1976 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2006.

Tatapuram Sukumaran was a Malayalam writer, born in Kaloor, Kochi, Kerala, India.

P. Surendran is an Indian writer, columnist, art critic and a philanthropist. He has published over 30 books, including works of fiction, travelogues and general writings, in Malayalam and also a collection of short stories in English. He is a teacher currently working in Kumaranellur school, Palakkad district. He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.

P. Jayachandran , better known by his stage name Unni R., is an Indian short-story writer and screenwriter, who is known for his work in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. Born in Kudamaloor in Kottayam district, he is currently based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. He studied in Kudamaloor LP school, CMS college High school, CMS College Kottayam and Baselius College, Kottayam. Unni R. won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay for the film Charlie (2015). His notable screenplays include Munnariyippu, Kullante Bharya in 5 Sundarikal and Bridge in Kerala Cafe.

Vadakkke Koottala Narayanankutty Nair, commonly known as V.K.N., was a prominent Malayalam writer, noted mainly for his highbrow satire. He wrote novels, short stories and political commentaries. His works are noted for their multi-layered humour, trenchant criticism of the socio-political classes and ability to twist the meanings of words contextually and lend a touch of magic to his language.

P. Valsala is a Malayalam novelist, short story writer, social activist, and a retired Head Mistress from Kerala, India. She a recipient of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Nizhalurangunna Vazhikal. Valsala was the Chairperson of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. She was associated with PuKaSa, a left-leaning cultural movement, but lately she has been supportive of Hindu fascist organisations.

K. L. Mohana Varma is a Malayalam–language novelist, short story writer and journalist from the Indian state of Kerala. Varma is known for pioneering fiction with a subject-based theme in Malayalam story-telling. His novels Ohari, Cricket, Neethi, reflect this form. His humorous columns and articles on contemporary politics, business and sports are popular. He has 66 published works, including 2 novels in English. His books are translated into many Indian languages. He has more than 15 awards for his works. He made two documentaries and a children's film.

Paul Zacharia, popularly known mononymously as Zacharia, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his body of literary works composed of short stories, novellas, travelogues, screenplays, essays, columns and children's books, Zacharia is a distinguished fellow of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. He is also a recipient of the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story.