Phil Mills, Jr. is an award-winning author known for his children’s books and traditional Western novels and short stories.
His children’s book Bandit the Cow Dog received a Spur Finalist Award from the Western Writers of America (WWA) for “Best Storyteller/Illustrated.” This same book also earned a Will Rogers Gold Medallion for “Western Fiction – Young Readers/Illustrated.” Phil’s children’s books Mud Between My Toes and Scooter the Cow Dog have also received critical acclaim.
Phil believes in writing wholesome, education-based stories for children. His stories touch on life lessons and the importance of friendships, accepting responsibility, and honesty. He recently was asked to speak to the Southwest Writers (SWW) group in Albuquerque, New Mexico on “Writing Children’s Books in a Video Game World.”
Phil’s traditional Western novels Where a Good Wind Blows and Where the Wildflowers Dance have enjoyed equal success and a strong, loyal reader following. Where a Good Wind Blows received a WWA Spur Finalist Award for “Best Western Audiobook.” One influential reviewer compared Phil’s descriptive writing to that of Zane Grey.
Phil’s most recent endeavor was his contribution to an anthology of Western mystery short stories/novellas entitled Perilous Frontier. His short story in that collection entitled “Cold the Bitter Heart” earned a Will Rogers Silver Medallion for Western Fiction – Short Stories. His short story “Bend the Blades of Grass” and his poem “Age Too Quickly Comes” were featured in the Summer 2021 edition of the award-winning Saddlebag Dispatches.
Phil is a long time member of the Western Writers of America (WWA) and served for a short time as WWA President. He’s also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Western Fictioneers, Women Writing the West (WWW), the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), and the Montana Historical Society. Phil is also a lifetime member of the Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum (CBHMA).
Phil, whose grandfather Oscar Mills grew up in Montana and rode at times with the famous Western artist Charles M. Russell, is also an avid fan of professional rodeo and in 2016 attended the Chad Nicholson Rodeo Announcer Seminar in Fort Worth, Texas. He spent the summer of 2016 and early spring of 2017 announcing rodeos in Bandera, Texas, along with announcing barrel racing events in Georgia and Alabama.
His experiences include 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. Between them they have four children and seven grandchildren.
