Kieth Merrill is a writer, producer and director. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Director’s Guild of America. Merrill is a two-time Oscar nominee and winner of the Academy Award for his film The Great American Cowboy. Two of his films have been listed in the top 100 independent films of all time. The Evolution of Thomas Hall is his first novel. He and his wife, Dagny, are the parents of eight children and live in the Sierra foothills of Northern California’s gold country.