KP Ramanunni is a leading contemporary Malayalam writer known for his short stories and novels. His short stories, published in leading Malayalam journals, have been brought out in sixteen collections. His first short story, Chavasamskaram, won the Best Short Story Prize from the Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishad. Mukalakshanam received the V. P. Sivakumar Smaraka Keli Award, while Jathi Chodikuka won both the Padmarajan Puraskaram and the Katha Award, New Delhi. Manushyan Mrugam Engane won the Bahrain Keraleya Samajam Award, and Kattu Raghavan received the Kairali Award. Among his short story collections, Purusha Vilapam won the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award, and Jathi Chodikukka received the Kalakkad Award. His selected short stories were honoured with the C. V. Sreeraman Award and the T. V. Kochubava Award in 2009. His collections Haidavam and Shareeradooram won the O. V. Vijayan Award, and Haidavam also received the S. K. Pottekkatt Award.
Ramanunni’s first novel, Sufi Paranja Katha, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Edassery Award. The novel has been translated into ten languages: English, French, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani, and Maithili. The Hindi, Kannada, and Maithili translations were published by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. The English translation, What the Sufi Said, led to a French translation published in 2008 by Éditions Kailash, Paris, titled Tharavad, ce que disait le Soufi. The novel was later adapted into a feature film directed by National Award–winning filmmaker Priyanandanan.
His second novel, Charamavarshikam, was published in English by Oxford University Press. Ramanunni’s third novel, Jeevithathinte Pusthakam, won the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad National Award and the Malayattoor Award, and in 2011 received the Vayalar Award, Kerala’s most prestigious literary honour. The novel was published in Hindi by Sasta Sahitya Mandal, New Delhi.
His novel Daivathinte Pusthakam won the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award, Sabbhavana Award, Basheer Puraskaram, and the Asgar Ali Engineer National Award, and in 2017 received the Sahitya Akademi Award, India’s highest national literary honour. The novel, which includes the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was widely discussed. Ramanunni has participated in many national and international literary seminars and represented Malayalam literature at the International Katha Seminar, New Delhi. He was a member of the writers’ delegation sent by Sahitya Akademi to China and the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2007. He currently serves as the Malayalam Convener and Executive Board Member of Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, and is an activist in the mother tongue movement.
His book:
The Book of Life