Imayam depicts the stark reality of contemporary Tamizh society in his writing. He has written eight novels and eight collections of short stories so far. Among the many awards he has received are the Tamil Nadu State award, the Sahitya Akademi award, Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar, and the Canadian Iyal Lifetime Achievement award. His works have been translated into Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, English, and French.
