Eric Gamalinda was born in Manila and currently divides his time between family in Manila and work in New York City. He has won several awards and grants for his writing and experimental films, including the Cultural Center of the Philippines Independent Film and Video Awards, the Asian American Literary Award, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Philippine Centennial Literary Prize, the Philippine National Book Award, the Asiaweek

short story prize, and several Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in the Philippines. In Manila, he worked as an editor for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. In New York, he teaches at Columbia University and also assists a non-profit organization offering music education to inner-city public schools.