On the Wing

After growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Don Thomas completed his higher education in California, Montreal, and Washington, winding up as a board-certified internist. He spent his 40-year medical career in rural Montana and Alaska, where he was also a pilot, commercial fisherman, and bear hunting guide.He began writing professionally in the early 1980s. Following old advice to write about topics he both knew and cared about, he turned naturally to the outdoors for subject matter. He has written over 1700 features and columns for a wide variety of magazines including Traditional Bowhunter, Bowhunter, Gray's Sporting Journal, Big Sky Journal, Alaska, Retriever Journal, Pointing Dog Journal, Just Labs, American Flyfishing, Sports Afield, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, Fish Alaska, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Western Hunting Journal, Fly Rod and Reel, Outside Bozeman, Saltwater Flyfishing, Strung, and Tail. He has held numerous masthead positions and is currently a principal at Strung. His writing has won numerous awards including the Traver Award for Flyfishing Fiction (twice), the Ted Trueblood Award from Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and the Tom Shupenis and Glenn St. Charles awards from the Professional Bowhunters Society. He was also the Co-Editor of Traditional Bowhunter for nearly 20 years.Don has written over 20 books on subjects including bowhunting, flyfishing, wing-shooting, gun dogs, conservation, and history. His work has appeared in numerus anthologies. Working together, he and his wife Lori have also contributed numerous photo essays to the same magazines.Don and Lori now live in rural Montana. Their four kids are grown and gone, but they still have their Labrador retrievers, German wirehair pointers, and one Jack Russell terrier.Don has always written under the byline "E.Donnall Thomas Jr." in honor of his father, who won the 1990 Noble Prize in Medicine and was one of the most capable and ethical outdoorsmen Don ever met. He omits the "M.D." to which he is entitled because he has never met a gamebird or animal that cared.