Nicolas Kurtovitch was born in Nouméa to New Caledonian and Yugoslavian parents. He studied geography at the University of Provence and then became a teacher in New Caledonia, serving as principal of Do Kamo High School for twenty-five years. One of the leading figures in New Caledonia's literary landscape, he is the author of an extensive oeuvre of poetry, fiction, and theatre and has given readings and done residencies in many countries around the world. His writing has been awarded the Antonio Viccaro International Poetry Prize, the Prix du Salon of the Ouessant Island Book Fair, the Popaï Prize, and the Vi Nimö Prize. He is a member of the Société des Gens de Lettres de France and was the founding president of the Association of New Caledonian Writers. In 2005 he helped create the Geopoetic Center of New Caledonia and in 2004 he was made a knight of France's Order of Arts and Letters.