Kelman was born to an American father and British mother and was raised in both nations. Kelman attended The Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received a Bachelor of Science in Brain and Cognitive Science and Minored in Film and Media Studies. Although he was part of the Class of 1994, he graduated early in 1993. He then attended Brown University where he received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing-Fiction. Kelman's first novel, girls, was a San Francisco Chronicle and New York Journal News Best Book of the Year when it was published in hardcover by Little, Brown and Company in 2003. In 2011, Kelman's first screenplay, Genneris, was purchased by Steven Spielberg at Dreamworks Studios. Since then, Kelman has also written original screenplays for other major studios and directors including Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, and Roland Emmerich. The author lives in Los Angeles, CA..