U. K. Kumaran (born 11 May 1950) is a Malayalam-language novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist from Kerala, India.

[1] According to The Hindu, the short story "Chalanam" "is a comprehensive landscape, peopled with characters and nature.

Each character should grow and reach a point where they move towards a climax well.

You cannot leave them mid-way, unfinished.

"[2] Kumaran has received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Policukarante Penmakkal (2011) and Vaikom Chandrasekharan Nair Award for Thakshankunnu Swaroopam (2012).