José Sousa Machado was born in Luanda, Angola in 1956. His school education was in Lisboa, Portugal. Still in Lisboa attended Instituto Superior Técnico. In 1975 moved to Brazil and graduated in Economy in the Faculdade de Ciências Políticas e Económicas in Rio de Janeiro where he also studied literature for 3 years in the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. In 1981, back in Lisboa, Machado worked as a journalist, art critic, and cultural coordinator for the newspapers Correio da Manhã, Semanário, and ABC magazine. He collaborated with Jornal de Letras, Diário de Notícias, Diário Popular, and Diário de Lisboa among other publications and periodicals. Founded and directed the magazines Artes & Leilões, Arte Ibérica, Agenda Cultural de Lisboa, and Aprender a Olhar. Since 2014 Machado is in charge of the project Livraria Sá da Costa.