David Carroll Eddings was an American fantasy writer, born on July 7, 1931, and passed away on June 2, 2009. Alongside his wife, Leigh Eddings, he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including The Belgariad (1982–84), The Malloreon (1987–91), The Elenium (1989–91), The Tamuli (1992–94), and The Dreamers (2003–06).

Leigh Eddings was an uncredited co-author on many of his early books, but he later acknowledged that she contributed to them all. She was recognized as a credited co-author from around 1990.

David and Leigh Eddings adopted two children, a boy named Scott David and a younger girl, but they lost custody in 1970 due to legal issues. However, these details were not widely known during their later careers.