His works include the novels Mannu, Daivappura, Manja Sooryante Naalukal and Kudamanikal Kilungiya Raavil, and the short story collections Peramaram, Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu and Mazhayilundaya Makal.

Following this advice, Payyannur left his job at Ee Aazhcha and joined the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) in 1985.

Nonetheless, Payyannur continued to pursue his interest in cinema, writing the screenplay for the 1992 film Nakshthrakoodaram, which was directed by Padmarajan's assistant Joshy Mathew.

[1] In 2001, Payyannur resigned from the State Bank of Travancore to become fully immersed in literary activities and visual media.

[14] At the time of his death, Payyannur was working on an unfinished novel titled Sathram, which was based on the life of poet P. Kunhiraman Nair.

[19] Satheesh Babu Payyannur "writes with compassion and force, his stories delving into the world of the most ordinary people to reveal extraordinary moments of human predicament.

Payyannur began publishing his works in the late 1970s and early 1980s,[21] and his writing soon garnered the attention and admiration of readers through the publication of numerous stories in various periodicals.

[22] In total, he published around 200 stories,[1] including "Daivam", "Peramaram", "Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu", "Manalparappu", "Manassu", "Ilayamma", "Scene Over" and "Lift".

[4] Likewise, the story "Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu" was written in the same year and was based on Payyannur's own experiences during the Payyanur Subramanya temple festival, which takes place for fourteen days in the Malayalam month of Vrischikam.

[4] Some of Payyannur's other short story collections include Khamaruneesayude Koottukari (Khamaruneesa's Friend), Newsreaderum Poochayum (The Newsreader and the Cat), Scene Over and Photo.

[20] Payyannur wrote his early novels such as Daivappura, Manja Sooryante Naalukal, Mannu, and Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu during the second half of the 1980s while living in Kannur and Kasargod districts.

[1] Mannu (Soil), set against the backdrop of the Kavumbai agitation of 1949, was written in 1985 when Payyannur worked at the Sreekandapuram branch of the State Bank of Travancore.

[4] The novel was serialised over a period of 35 weeks in the Sunday supplement of Deshabhimani in 1988 and published as a book the following year by Trivandrum-based Chintha Publications, with a preface by E. M. S.

[4] In the novel Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu, Payyannur discussed the lives of Christians who migrated from Travancore to the hills of northern Kerala.

[28] The last published work during his lifetime was Kamal Haasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru Cinema (A Film in Which Kamal Haasan Did Not Act) which is a collection of ten novellas including Kamal Haasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru Cinema, Oru Asambandha Online Padam (A Ridiculous Online Movie), Sana, Ulahannanum Njanum (Ulahannan and Me), Idanazhiyude Ingeyattathu (On this End of the Corridor), Nadakam (Drama), Thaniye (Alone), Ethetho Pulinangalil and Mazhayude Neenda Viralukal (The Long Fingers of the Rain).