Author of well over 200 books, Sunil was a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres but declares poetry to be his "first love".
His Nikhilesh and Neera series of poems (some of which have been translated as For You, Neera and Murmur in the Woods) have been extremely popular.

As in poetry, Sunil was known for his unique style in prose.
His second novel was Atmaprakash and it was also the first writing from a newcomer in literature published in the prestigious magazine- Desh (1965).
It was critically acclaimed but some controversy arose for its aggressive and 'obscene' style.
Sunil said that he was afraid of this novel and went away from Calcutta for a few days.
Satyajit Ray thought to make a film on it but it wasn't possible for reasons.
The central character of 'Atmaprakash' is a young man of core-calcutta'- Sunil, who leads a bohemian life-style.
The novel had inspiration from ' On the road' by Jack Kerouac, the beat generation writer.
His historical fiction Sei Somoy (translated into English by Aruna Chakravorty as Those Days) received the Indian Sahitya Akademi award in 1985.
Sei Somoy continues to be a best seller more than two-decade after its first publication.
The same is true for Prothom Alo (also translated recently by Aruna Chakravorty as First Light), another best selling historical fiction and Poorba-Pashchim, a raw depiction of the partition and its aftermath seen through the eyes of three generations of Bengalis in West Bengal, Bangladesh and elsewhere.
 He is also the winner of the Bankim Puraskar (1982), and the Ananda Puraskar (twice, in 1972 and 1989).

Sunil wrote in many other genres including travelogues, children's fiction, short stories, features, and essays.
Among his pen-names are: Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Nil Upadhyay.

Though he wrote all types of children's fiction, one character created by him that stands out above the rest, was Kakababu, the crippled adventurist, accompanied by his young adult nephew Santu, and his friend Jojo.
Since 1974, Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote over 35 novels of this popular series, most of which appeared in Anandamela magazine.
Author of well over 200 books, Sunil was a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres but declares poetry to be his "first love". His Nikhilesh and Neera series of poems (some of which have been translated as For You, Neera and Murmur in the Woods) have been extremely popular.
As in poetry, Sunil was known for his unique style in prose. His second novel was Atmaprakash and it was also the first writing from a newcomer in literature published in the prestigious magazine- Desh (1965). It was critically acclaimed but some controversy arose for its aggressive and 'obscene' style. Sunil said that he was afraid of this novel and went away from Calcutta for a few days. Satyajit Ray thought to make a film on it but it wasn't possible for reasons. The central character of 'Atmaprakash' is a young man of core-calcutta'- Sunil, who leads a bohemian life-style. The novel had inspiration from ' On the road' by Jack Kerouac, the beat generation writer. His historical fiction Sei Somoy (translated into English by Aruna Chakravorty as Those Days) received the Indian Sahitya Akademi award in 1985. Sei Somoy continues to be a best seller more than two-decade after its first publication. The same is true for Prothom Alo (also translated recently by Aruna Chakravorty as First Light), another best selling historical fiction and Poorba-Pashchim, a raw depiction of the partition and its aftermath seen through the eyes of three generations of Bengalis in West Bengal, Bangladesh and elsewhere.  He is also the winner of the Bankim Puraskar (1982), and the Ananda Puraskar (twice, in 1972 and 1989).
Sunil wrote in many other genres including travelogues, children's fiction, short stories, features, and essays. Among his pen-names are: Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Nil Upadhyay.
Though he wrote all types of children's fiction, one character created by him that stands out above the rest, was Kakababu, the crippled adventurist, accompanied by his young adult nephew Santu, and his friend Jojo. Since 1974, Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote over 35 novels of this popular series, most of which appeared in Anandamela magazine.
Sunil Gangopadhyay