Bryan Mealer was born in Odessa, TX and spent his childhood in West Texas and San Antonio. He graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and spent time as a city reporter for the Austin Chronicle. He then moved to New York City and worked as an assistant editor at Esquire magazine before moving to Nairobi, Kenya to become a freelance reporter. He later was the Associated Press staff correspondent in Kinshasa, Congo. He now lives in Providence, Rhode Island and contributes to several magazines.