Iwan Setyawan was born on December 2, 1974, in Batu, Indonesia. He was the top graduate from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at IPB University in 1997, majoring in statistics. He worked in Jakarta for three years as a data analyst at Nielsen and Danareksa Research Institute.

Following his work in Jakarta, Iwan expanded his career to New York City where he spent 10 years. A lover of yoga, literature, and theater arts, he left NYC in June 2010, with his last position being Director of Internal Client Management at Nielsen Consumer Research, New York.

9 Summers 10 Autumns is his first novel, inspired by his life journey from being the son of a driver in Batu City to his career in New York City. His first book, Melankoli Kota Batu, is a collection of photography and poetic narrative, dedicated to Batu City. Iwan currently resides in Batu, East Java.