Nitin Kushalappa (born Mookonda Poonacha Nitin Kushalappa, also known as Mookonda Nitin Kushalappa, Nitin Kushalappa M P or Mookonda Kushalappa) is an Indian author of books and articles.
Kushalappa hails from Kodagu (Coorg), a region rich in oral lore. He studied in Bangalore in Clarence High School, St. Joseph's Pre-University College, CMR Institute of Technology (BE), Kuvempu University (MA) (correspondence course) and Alliance University (EPGDM) (weekend classes).
Nitin Kushalappa is a lead engineer in the software development industry.
Kushalappa has also been working towards preserving the Kodava language and culture. He is the researcher working for the online Kodava Virtual Museum. He has done work on an old temple script, thirke. In an interview with Anushree Madhavan of The New Indian Express, Nitin admits that Coorg and the Pattole Palame are constant influences in his works.
Kushalappa has books on local history, a translation from Kannada to English on Pandyanda Belliappa, and a biography to his credit. His book 'The Major who kept his Cool' is the biography of an army hero Lt Col (then Major) P S Ganapathi MVC, who protected his men while they were in hostile territory. Nitin has co-authored a book on the native religious practises of Kodagu. His various articles have been published by the Deccan Herald, and Star of Mysore. He also writes under the names Mookonda Kushalappa, Mookonda Nitin Kushalappa, and Nitin Kushalappa M P.
He is the author of Amazon bestsellers Bigfoot's The House of Awadh (2019), Puffin Books' (2023) and A Hoysala Adventure (2025). The House of Awadh was nominated for the Sahitya Akademi's Bal Sahitya Puraskar in 2023. Dakshin is a children's book, a collection of 15 South Indian folktales, published in 2023. This book won him the Sahitya Akademi's Bal Sahitya Puraskar in 2025. Dakshin was also shortlisted for the 2023 Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize in the children's fiction category.