Karur Neelakanta Pillai was a Malayalam short story writer and one of the founders of Sahithya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham (Writers' Co-operative Society).
He began his career as a school teacher. He is considered one of the best short storytellers of the Malayalam language.
His short stories often portray the plight of the middle class in a simple and straightforward manner. Many of his stories were translated into other Indian languages and English. The short story "Anakkaran" (The Elephant Boy) was translated into English