The Story

Phil Mills, Jr. is a longtime member and past president of the Western Writers of America (WWA). He's also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Western Fictioneers, the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), and the Montana Historical Association. He's a lifetime member of the Custer Battlefield Historical & Museum Association (CBHMA). Phil is a two-time WWA Spur Award Finalist. First in 2010 for Best Western Audiobook for his historical novel Where a Good Wind Blows. That was followed in 2021 for his children's book Bandit the Cow Dog for Best Storyteller/Illustrated. Bandit the Cow Dog also received the 2021 Will Rogers Gold Medallion in Western Fiction Young Readers/Illustrated. He also has two additional children's books entitled Scooter the Cow Dog and Mud Between My Toes. The second of his "Good Wind Series" of traditional western novels is Where the Wildflowers Dance, published in 2020. His most recent endeavor (2021) was his contribution to the anthology of Western mystery short stories/novellas entitled Perilous Frontier. Phil's story in that collection "Cold the Bitter Heart" received a 2022 Will Rogers Silver Medallion in the Western Short Story category. In the summer of 2021, his short story "Bend the Blades of Grass" and his poem "Age Too Quickly Comes" appeared in the publication Saddlebag Dispatches. He was featured in the 2023 issue of True West magazine in the column "What History Has Taught Me." His experience includes being a small town newspaper editor, farm magazine editor, and work with two major advertising/public relations agencies. Phil and his wife, Sonja, live west of Fort Worth, Texas. Together, they have four children and seven grandchildren.