Larry W. Phillips

and reviews

Larry W. Phillips is a best-selling author of contemporary fiction, with a prolific career spanning over 40 years. He is best known for his new western novels, one of which is the acclaimed Whiskeyheart and its sequel, The Mad Cow. His body of work includes novels, short stories, and a series of works related to The Holocaust. His works have been translated into 15 languages and adapted into feature films and television series.

Phillips was born in 1945 in Peoria, Illinois, and was raised by his grandmother who was a seamstress. He credits her for teaching him to love literature and inspiring his writing career. Phillips attended Eastern Illinois University, and worked a variety of jobs to help pay his tuition, from carpentry to food service. He later transitioned to writing full time, with his first novel published in 1978.

Phillips writes with a thoughtful but spirited style, often combining humor with a deep understanding of the human condition. His characters are often flawed, yet endowed with a sense of nobility and resilience borne from the tough environments they live in. The settings of his works span a wide range of locations, from the backwaters of rural America to the urban landscape of modern Los Angeles. Many of his stories are driven by the story of the Native American experience.

Whiskeyheart, his best-known work, is a classic western novel with a twist. It follows the adventures of the protagonist, a young Native American man who is determined to seek justice for his tribe. Phillips masterfully navigates the clash between the Old West and the modern world through the vivid and heartbreaking journey of the main character.

The Mad Cow is a sequel to Whiskeyheart and features another complex narrative of a Native American family struggling to survive and preserve their culture in the midst of a rapidly changing world. The story centers around Virgil Chavez, a former rodeo rider and rancher who takes on a new career as a Hollywood stuntman. The novel is a beautiful examination of the resilience of the human spirit, in spite of the numerous obstacles presented to us in life.

Phillips’ works of fiction often explore the idea of justice and what it means in a changing world. His novels often critique the flaws in our societal structures and advocate for a more fair and equitable society. Through these themes, his work has been hailed as a “modern day morality tale.”

Phillips’ exploration of themes of justice, resilience and morality has won him awards and critical acclaim, with three of his novels adapted for feature films. He has won a Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Novel for both Whiskeyheart and The Mad Cow. In addition, he has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for The Seven Rivers for its powerful narrative of life in the Jim Crow South.

Phillips has been described as “a master of the American West,” a description that stands true due to his impeccable ability to capture the beauty and complexity of the American experience through his writings. His works are an inspiration to readers everywhere, encouraging us to see beyond the surface and appreciate the resilience of the human spirit.