Karnail Singh Somal is a well known Punjabi prose-writer. He is recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award (Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2020 for his book in Punjabi 'Phoolaan da shehar'). He was born in village Kalour, District Fatehgarh Sahib (erstwhile in District. Patiala), Punjab, on 28 September 1940, as per school record. However, as per his mother, he was born in the early morning of Maghi, first day of the month of Magh. His father's name is Prem Singh and mother's name is Surjeet Kaur. He got his early education in his village school. He matriculated from Govt. High School Bassi Pathana in 1958. Because of financial difficulties, he could not continue his education further, he got a petty job. However, his yearning for education led him to pursue his studies privately. He did his M.A. in Punjabi(standing third in the university) and M.A. in Hindi. Later on he got his PhD from Punjab University. The topic of his thesis was "A Study of Free Verse in Punjabi (up to 1950)".