Kevin Daniel Matz was born in Champaign, Illinois, on May 12, 1977. He received a Bachelors degree in Rhetoric in 2000. He then worked a number of glamorous jobs, such as fork lift operator and deli grunt, to support his writing before returning to the University of Illinois to pursue graduate study. In 2004, he won the Carol Kyle Memorial Award for Poetry. He graduated with his MFA from the University of Illinois in May of 2005. He lives with his wife and daughter.