Born and raised in Perez, Quezon, John Brixter Tino earned a Bachelor of Arts in Literary and Cultural Studies from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He was awarded the National Youth Achievement Award for Literary Arts by the NCCA. His poems and essays have been recognized in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Maningning Miclat Prize for Poetry, the LIRA Award, the Bienvenido Lumbera Award, and the René O. Villanueva Award. He is a member of the Human Rights and People Empowerment Center and Kolektibo Kalimbahin.