Vayalar Ramavarma, also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include Sargasangeetham, Mulankaadu, Padamudrakal, Aayisha and Oru Judas janikkunnu and for around 1300 songs he penned for 256 Malayalam films. He received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1972 and was the winner of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics in its year of inception which he received three more times. He was also a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1962. His collaborations with G. Devarajan produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many songs written and composed by these duo remain the ever green classics in Malayalam. Ramavarma is regarded as one of the most successful and critically acclaimed lyricist in the history of Malayalam cinema.
Sugathakumari was an Indian poet and activist, who was at the forefront of environmental and feminist movements in Kerala, South India.
D. Vinayachandran was an Indian Malayalam poet. He is one of the proponents of modern style of prose in Malayalam poetry. He was born in West Kallada, Kollam district and has worked as a Malayalam professor in various colleges for more than thirty years. He had his early education in schools in and around Kallada. After completing his master's in Malayalam literature from Government Sanskrit College, Pattambi, he entered the collegiate education service as a lecture and worked in various government colleges across Kerala. He joined the faculty of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, in 1991 and retired from University's School of Letters in 2006.
Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, born Sambasivan but popularly known as Ulloor, was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature and a historian. He was one of the modern triumvirate poets of Kerala in the first half of the 20th century, along with Kumaran Asan and Vallathol Narayana Menon. Umakeralam, a mahakavya, and Kerala Sahitya Charitram, a comprehensive history of the Malayalam language are two of his most important works.
Vennikkulam Gopala Kurup (1902–1980) was an Indian poet, playwright, translator, lexicographer and story writer of Malayalam. He was the author of a number of poetry anthologies, besides other works, and he translated Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Tulsi Ramayana, Tirukkuṛaḷ, the poems of Subramania Bharati and two cantos of The Light of Asia of Edwin Arnold into Malayalam. He also contributed in the preparation of a dictionary, Kairali Kosham. A recipient of the Odakkuzhal Award and Thirukural Award, Kurup received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1966. Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award in 1974.
Olappamanna Mana Subramanian Namboothirippad, better identified by his family name, Olappamanna , was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature. A former chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam and an author of 20 books of poetry, his poems were noted for their explicit social expressions. He received two awards from Kerala Sahitya Academy and another from Kendra Sahitya Academy, besides honours such as Government of Madras Poetry Prize, Odakkuzhal Award, N. V. Puraskaram, Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram and Ulloor Award.
Bodheswaran, , was an Indian independence activist, social reformer and a poet of Malayalam literature. He was known for his nationalistic poems such as Keralaganam and for his involvement in social movements like Vaikom Satyagraha and other related events which led to the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936.
V. Madhusoodanan Nair is an Indian poet and critic of Malayalam literature, who is credited with contributions in popularizing poetry through recitation. He is best known for Naranathu Bhranthan, the poem with the most editions in Malayalam literature as well as his music albums featuring recitations of his own poems and poems of other major poets. Kerala Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award for poetry in 1993. He is also a recipient many other honours including Sahitya Akademi Award, Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram, Padmaprabha Literary Award, Kunju Pillai Award, R. G. Mangalom Award, Souparnikatheeram Prathibhapuraskaram and Janmashtami Puraskaram.
Narayanan Nambuthiri Kakkad, commonly known as N. N. Kakkad, was an Indian poet of the Malayalam language. Known for works such as Saphalmee Yathra, Pathalathinde Muzhakkam and Changatham, he was a Sanskrit scholar and was known to have been proficient in painting and music. He was a recipient of several awards including Odakkuzhal Award, Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry and Vayalar Award.
Vadakke Valath Krishnan, commonly known as V. V. K. Valath, was an Indian writer, poet, toponymist and historian of Malayalam language. One of the pioneers of toponymy in Kerala, he focused on the origin of place names in the state as the subject of his works which are known for their attention to historic detail. He wrote poems, short-stories, novels, and over 400 historical articles and his most notable works are Rigvedathilude, Keralathile Stalacharitrangal, and poetry anthologies, Idimuzhakkam and Minnal Velicham. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him their annual award for overall contributions in 1999. He was also a fellow of the Place Names Society and a recipient of the Pandit Karuppan Award.
Innu is an inland-letter magazine published from Malappuram district in Kerala, India, that promotes the old fashioned way of printing and despatching by post. It is the oldest inland-letter literary magazine publishing from Kerala state. The magazine has been inducted into the Limca Book of Records as the longest-running Inland Magazine in India.
Pazhavila Ramesan was a Malayalam–language journalist, poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who received the 2017 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions.
T. N. Gopinathan Nair, was an Indian dramatist, novelist, poet, screenwriter and biographer of Malayalam language. One of the prolific among Malayalam playwrights, Nair published 39 plays, besides his four novels, four poetry anthologies and five biographies. He was a member of the council of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and held the char of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. His drama, Pareeksha, received the Vikraman Nair Trophy for the best drama and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi selected his work, Sakshi, for their annual award for drama in 1979.
Kadathanat Madhavi Amma was an Indian poet, novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. Known for poetry anthologies such as Kalyopaharam and Kanikkonna, she was also the author of two works based on Vadakkan Pattukal viz. Thacholi Othenan and Payyamvelli Chandu. The Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded her their annual award for overall contributions in 1996.
Savithri Rajeevan is an Indian poet, short story writer and painter. One of the leading female writers in Malayalam, she has published four collections of poetry and a volume of short fiction.
Ajijesh Pachat is a Malayalam novelist, short story writer and columnist from Malappuram, Kerala, India. He has won numerous awards, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Geetha Hiranyan Award.
Palakkeezh Narayanan was a Malayalam language writer, academic and political activist from Kerala, India. For his outstanding contributions in the field of Malayalam literature, he received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions in 2019. Presenting the award, the then Chairman of Sahitya Akademi, Vaisakhan said that he was proud and happy to present the award to Palakkeezhu, who had worked for the Malayalam language, literature and culture with 100% dedication.
Aryambika S. V. is a Malayalam language poet from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Yuva Puraskar by Sahithya Akademi and Kanakasree Award by Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
Rosemary is a Malayalam language poet and translator from Kerala, India. She has received many awards including Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions in 2019. Her autobiography, Nilaavil Oru Panineerchampa was published in 2021.
K. P. Sankaran is a Malayalam–language literary critic from Kerala, India. Born on 15 May 1939 in Painkulam in Trichur district of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin, he was a teacher at Changanacherry S.B. College, Trichur Kerala Varma College and Mysore Regional Institute of Education from where he retired in 2001. He resides with his wife Kamala Devi in Kottapparambu near Chelavoor, Calicut since 2019. He has authored around 30 books.
