Perumal Murugan is an Indian author, scholar and literary chronicler who writes novels in Tamil. He has written eleven novels, five collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry to his credit. Seven of his novels have been translated into English: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize in 2005, Current Show, One Part Woman, Pyre, Poonachi, Trial By Silence and A Lonely Harvest. He also regularly contributes essays, reviews and articles on literature, culture and public policy.
He was a professor of Tamil at the Government Arts College in Attur, Salem Dt. In 2018, Perumal Murugan was elected one of the Vice Presidents of PEN International, the world wide writers body. This is the first time in 98 years that an Indian was elected to this body.