Gilmer Mesa was born in 1978 in Medellín, Colombia, where he has spent his entire ilfe. He studied philosophy and literature at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana de Medellín. Since 20017, he has held posts at several universities. He currently teaches political science and geopolitics at UPB, and sustainable development at Tecnológico de Antioquia. He has also worked as a producer and host of radio programs about popular music. His novel La Cuadra (Penguin Random House, 2016) earned the Cámara de Comércio de Medellín Prize for novels and short stories.