Vallikannan is the pseudonym of R. S. Krishnasamy (12 November 1920 - 9 November 2006), a Tamil, writer, journalist, critic, and translator from Tamil Nadu, India. Krishnasamy was born in Rajavallipuram near Tirunelveli. He started writing at a very young age and had published twenty five books by the time he was 30. He worked for magazines like Cinema Ulagam, Navasakthi, Grama Oozhiyan and Hanuman. He also wrote under the pseudonyms "Naiyandi Bharathi" and "Koranathan." He wrote a total of 75 books in his life - novels, novellas, poetry collections, plays and essay anthologies. In 1978, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil for his critical work on modern Tamil poetry Pudukavithaiyin Thottramum Valarchiyum (lit. The birth and growth of Modern Tamil Poetry).