From the novel Polgara the Sorceress:

David Eddings was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1931 and was raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle.  He received a bachelor of arts degree from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 1954 and a master of arts degree from the University of Washington in 1961.  He has served in the United States Army, has worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company, has been a grocery clerk, and has taught college English.  He has lived in many parts of the United States.

His first novel, High Hunt, was a contemporary adventure story.  Fantasy literature has always been of interest to him, however, and he turned to The Belgariad in an effort to develop certain technical and philosophical ideas concerning the genre.

Eddings and his wife, Leigh, currently reside in the Southwest, where they work together on their bestselling fantasy epics.