Alain Gordon-Gentil was born in 1952 in Mauritius. Born into a farming family, he grew up in the district of Pamplemousses. He began his journalism career in 1977. He was published first in Le Cernéen, then to Mauricien and L'Express, where he received the Prix Nicolas Lambert  as journalist of the year in 1981. He also edited an investigative news magazine, Le Mag, founded in 1992,  and worked for several French newspapers. He published his first novel, Quartiers de Pamplemousses, in 1999, and followed with Le Voyage de Delcourt (2001) et Devina (2009), for which he was awarded the Prix Révélation. His other novels include Légère approche de la haine (2009) and Le Chemin des poussières (2012). In collaboration with Fareed Khan Jangeer, he made Les Moussons Intimes (2005), a documentary on the Salt March of Mahatma Gandhi. This documentary was broadcast in Mauritius and on television in Belgium, France, Australia, and Japan. Subsequently, he produced a series of four historical documentaries about French, African, Indian and Chinese immigration to Mauritius. His latest documentary, released in 2010, was a posthumous tribute to the Mauritian jazz musician Ernest Wiehe.