Marlan received his MFA in creative writing from UNLV in 2023. Before that, he earned his MA in English from University of Idaho where he taught first-year composition. He has been published in several science fiction journals and served as a contributing editor and reader for Witness magazine at UNLV. He was also a reader for Fugue Literary Journal during his time at the University of Idaho, where he produced content for the university's in-house game studio. In addition to tutoring for the UNLV Writing Center, he teaches first-year composition at UNLV.