His debut novel
Asura: Tale of the Vanquished was published by Leadstart Publishing on 14 May 2012. The book became a surprise bestseller, breaking into the top seller charts within a week of its launch. His second book was based on
Mahabharata told from the perspective of
Kaurava and was part of a two-book series.
Ajaya: Roll of the Dice was released in December 2013 and the sequel
Ajaya: Rise of Kali was released in July 2015. Anand Neelakantan wrote the official prequel series of novels for the
Baahubali film series. Titled
Bahubali: Before the Beginning, it is a three-book series that acts as a prequel to the films. The first book of the trilogy,
The Rise of Sivagami, from the
Bahubali: Before the Beginning trilogy, was released on 7 March 2017.
S. S. Rajamouli, the director of
Baahubali series, revealed the cover of the book at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2017. The book became a blockbuster and was shortlisted for Crossword Popular Award 2018.
Netflix has announced a webseries on the book. The second book in the series,
Chaturanga was released on 6 August 2020. The third book,
Queen of Mahishmathi, was released on 28 December 2020. Anand's debut Children's book,
The Very Extremely Most Naughty Asura tales for Kids was published on 28 September 2020 by Puffin books. Anand Neelakantan's fifth book
Vanara, the legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara is published by Penguin Random House and is a best seller. Anand Neelakantan's children's book, Mahi-the elephant who flew over the blue mountains was shortlisted for 2024 Crossword popular children's book award. DAR films and KR movies have announced that they have won the film adoption rights and will be producing a multilingual film on
Vanara. Anand's
Malayalam work
Pennramayanam has been published by
Mathrubhumi Books. Harper collins has published Many Ramayanas Many Lessons, the Ramayana study of Anand Neelakantan in 2025 and the book has garnered good critical reviews. Storytel published Anand's first Audio drama, Nala's Damayanti on 14 March 2022. The audio drama has appeared in 9 Indian languages. Nala Damayanti was published in 2023 as a Novel by Penguin Random House India Ltd. Anand's second children's book, The Tale of Naughty Flying Mountains and the third, The Tale of a Naughty Prank was published by Puffin, a Penguin children's imprint. Harper Collins Children India published Anand's first non-mythological Children's book, Mahi- the Elephant Who Flew Over the Blue Mountains, an allegorical and satirical work along the lines of Animal Farm in December 2023. Storytel published the audio drama, AMBA, based on the character of Shikandin of Mahabharata in five Indian languages in January 2023. ==List of works==