Prose writer, photographer, and environmentalist Selemonas Paltanavičius was born on January 14, 1956, in Užbaliai, Marijampolė region.

In 1979, he graduated from Vilnius University, majoring in Biology. He worked at the Žuvintas reserve, and since 1984, has worked at environmental protection agencies and currently, at the Ministry of the Environment.

Since 1991, S. Paltanavičius has been a member of the Lithuanian Writer’s Union.

In 2007, the publishing house “Versus aureus” began publishing a series of Selemonas Paltanavičius, Kelionės po Lietuvą (Journeys across Lithuania).