Marshall Lewis Gaddis is a writer, musician and actor who has appeared in several films by Jon Jost and more recently in Copper City, premiering in 2017, from English filmmaker Jason Massot. His forebears include the explorer Meriwether Lewis and the writer William Gaddis. Forebear is his first novel.

He received his bachelor’s degree with honors from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, where his thesis advisor, Kurt Vonnegut, provided valuable insights and advice. After receiving an M.F.A. from the University of Montana, he joined the writing faculty—alongside landmark authors James Lee Burke, Richard Hugo, James Crumley, William Kittredge, James Welch and Max Crawford—before embarking on a career as a full-time writer, editor, and publications manager. He divides his time between southwestern Montana and San Diego’s North County.