Spotlight image: Illustrator S.D. Nelson and co-authors Donna Janell Bowman and Billy Mills at a 2024 event.
I’m thrilled to welcome fellow Austin author and Vermont College alumnx Donna Janell Bowman to discuss collaborating with Olympian Billy Mills on Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills, illustrated by S.D. Nelson (Little, Brown BYR). The book recently received the Robert F. Siebert Informational Book Medal Honor award from the American Library Association.
What inspired you to write this story? Do you have a personal connection to track and field sports?
Like all writers, I am the beneficiary of idea magic — that undefinable and irresistible seed that blossoms within our imaginations.
In 2014-2015, I was immersed in research for a different project when I stumbled upon a brief snippet about Billy. His against-all-odds journey from Pine Ridge Reservation to Olympic gold drew me in. He had overcome being orphaned as a child, poverty, health challenges, and continual racism. In every respect, he was an underdog. But he was also determined and committed to chasing a dream.
I thought a lot about why his story called to me so strongly. How did I resonate with Billy Mills, a man I had little in common with?
The answer was simpler than I imagined. Like all people, at times, I feel like an underdog, though certainly not due to experiences as traumatic and unjust as Billy faced. I have felt hopeless despair. I have felt like giving up while something I longed for appeared to slip away. My emotional resonance with Billy’s story collided with my deep curiosity. I was hooked!
As a new Vermont College student in 2015, I had the perfect “sandbox” to research Billy and experiment with a picture book manuscript. It also helped that my youngest son, Ethan, a standout track & field thrower, was transitioning into high school sports. His track meets became a sort of creative incubator as I worked on Wings of an Eagle, even before I met Billy.
In a glorious fate of timing, my nine-year journey with Wings of an Eagle paralleled Ethan’s track career, which ended with his final conference championship two months before Wings of an Eagle was published.
You’ve written several picture book biographies, but this is the first time you’ve co-authored a book. What prompted you to take that route?
It sounds comical to say, but I usually write about dead people. Wings of an Eagle is the first book I’ve written about a living person. Cultural sensitivity inspired the idea of collaboration.
Technically, I could have sought publication without Billy because he was a public figure, but I didn’t want to be yet another white person who appropriated a Native story. The fate of the book I envisioned rested entirely on Billy’s approval and involvement. As you will soon learn, reaching him wasn’t easy.
How did you make contact with Billy Mills? How long did it take?
Looking back, I’m a bit awed by my own tenacity with this project. I had a first draft of Wings of an Eagle at the end of 2015, but I hit pause until I could reach Billy. Long story short, it took four-and-a-half years and at least 49 (documented) emails, phone calls, and social media messages to reach him. An interview seemed impossible because of Billy’s schedule.
Thank goodness I didn’t give up! In January 2020, Ethan, my then-college athlete, and I spent a day with Billy and Pat Mills at their California home. It was magical!
By the end of the day, Billy not only gave me his blessings to write the book, but he agreed to collaborate with me. Countless phone calls, Zoom calls, emails, and text messages followed. Ultimately, by closely collaborating, we created a book rich with cultural and emotional authenticity. And I emerged from the process with close friendships with Billy and Pat Mills and illustrator S.D. Nelson.
Did your vision for the book change after meeting Billy?
Yes, in all the right ways! The picture book biography that I first conceptualized morphed into an autobiographical picture book. “My” book became “our” book. Our thoughtful conversations provided details that deepened the narrative and ensured that Billy’s enduring message for young readers came through organically. The book morphed yet again after it went under contract a year later.
Under the guidance of editor Andrea Spooner, and with Billy’s feedback at every step, I strategically replaced a couple of scenes and added necessary context. The narrative structure and lyrical voice that I originally conceptualized remained the same, but I changed the point-of-view to first-person to closely reflect Billy’s perspective.
In preparation for writing this book did you gain new insights on American history and twentieth-century popular culture?
To understand Billy, I needed to truly understand the culture and people that shaped him, and I needed to face the United States’ historical and contemporary treatment of Indigenous peoples.
Deep research opened my eyes, while my conversations with Billy and other Native friends opened my heart. My journey with Billy and Wings of an Eagle has been humbling and spectacular! And it has reinforced how important it is to be an ally as our current political climate further threatens truthful depictions of Indigenous peoples.
Wings of an Eagle was published right before the Paris Olympics, and I saw pictures of Billy there showing off the book. Were there other exciting surprises that have developed?
As promised, Billy and Pat sent me regular photos and updates from the Games. It was surreal to see our book baby at the Olympics that marked the 60th anniversary of Billy’s gold medal win in Tokyo.
As a bonus, during his week in Paris, Billy donated his Olympic jersey and a copy of Wings of an Eagle to the Museum of World Athletics, where both will be immortalized for future generations. How cool is that?
The response to Wings of an Eagle has been overwhelmingly delightful! The positive reviews (including 3 stars), recommendation lists, and overall buzz, have been fabulous! The book was even chosen as a Library of Congress Great Read, so it was featured at the National Book Festival.
Then, in September 2024, Billy, illustrator SD Nelson (Lakota), and I gave multiple presentations together at the South Dakota Festival of Books, where we bonded as a sort of “dream team.”
Now we have learned that Wings of an Eagle has been selected as the 2025 Young Readers One Book for South Dakota, so we will return this Fall to meet young readers, and 15,000 third graders will receive a special edition copy of the book.
And — hot off the presses — Wings of an Eagle has just been awarded a Sibert Honor by the American Library Association. Wings of an Eagle continues to soar!
Based on how long it takes to finish a nonfiction picture book, I’m guessing you work on multiple stories at the same time. What tips do you have for managing research and shifting between projects?
I almost always have multiple projects in various stages, though I try not to switch between them too often when I’m drafting because I prefer to immerse in a book until a certain stage.
During the inevitable lag times, like when I’m waiting for my editor to return feedback, I’ll do research or draft the next project that hollers at me the loudest. But sometimes, I must prioritize projects that provide immediate income, like freelance editing and coaching, school visits, and writing gigs.
As for managing research, I’m a stickler for organization and documentation because I know what it’s like to lose track of a source. For each nonfiction project, I have a massive binder (or two) where I organize resources, copies, and details by either date or topic.
From there, I create a “book bible,” which is a Word document where I cull the most relevant and trustworthy information and citations into categories using the “navigation tool.” All of that info is duplicated in digital folders. There are software programs that do something similar, but my low-tech process works for me.
Any news on what we can look forward to next?
I’m still reeling from being scooped on multiple projects in the past few years, but I do have some projects in the works. Alas, I can’t yet share details, so this post must end on a cliffhanger.
Cynsational Notes
Donna Janell Bowman is an award-winning author of books for young readers, including Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills, co-authored with Olympian Billy Mills and illustrated by S.D. Nelson; Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness, illustrated by Daniel Minter; Abraham Lincoln’s Dueling Words, illustrated by S.D. Schindler; and King of the Tightrope: When the Great Blondin Ruled Niagara, illustrated by Adam Gustavson.
Donna’s books have garnered such accolades as a Sibert Award Honor from ALA, starred reviews, Library of Congress Great Reads selection, NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommendation, a Carter G. Woodson Award Honor from NCSS, inclusion on ALA/ALSC and NCSS Notable lists, multiple best-of-the-year lists, Junior Library Guild selection, and book fair inclusion. Her books have also won state book awards after being nominated by about a dozen states, including Texas.
Donna has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she lives in central Texas.
Gayleen Rabakukk holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is currently a student in the Library Science Master’s program at the University of North Texas. She also has an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has published numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and two regional interest books for adults. She is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.
She serves as board member for Lago Vista’s Friends of the Library and also leads a book club for young readers at the library. She’s active in Austin SCBWI and has taught creative writing workshops for the Austin Public Library Foundation. She loves inspiring curiosity in young readers through stories of hope and adventure. Follow her on Instagram and Bluesky.
- Here’s a video of Billy Mills winning the 10,000 meter race at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.