Sarah Joseph is one of the leading women writers in Malayalam. She has also been one of the leading figures in the feminist movement in Kerala and also the founder of 'Manushi'. Her literary career started at an early age. Her major works include Othappu, Aathi, Maattathi, Aalahayude Penmakkal, Manassile Thee Mathram, Kadinte Sangeetham, Oduvilathe Suryakanthi etc. Aalahayude Penmakkal won her the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Vayalar Award. She had also received the Muttathu Varkey Award for her short story collection, Papathara (2011). She has won much critical acclaim for her Ramayana Kathakal, a subversive reading of the Ramayana. An English translation of this work has been published by the Oxford University Press and is the recipient of the very first O.V. Vijayan Sahitya Puraskaram. In 2012 she won the Padmaprabha Literary Award.