An eminent Malayalam fiction writer and essayist, Paul Zacharia is considered as one of the most important Indian writers living today. Known for the radical themes, his major works include Ithanente Peru, Bhaskarapattelarum Ente jeevithavum, Praise the Lord, Oru African Yathra, many of which are translated to English. He is also the author of the English novel The Secret History of Compassion which was longlisted for the 2019 JCB Prize. He has won numerous awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Muttathu Varkey Award, O.V. Vijayan Literary Award etc. to name a few.