Bill Hillmann

Bill Hillmann (born 1982) is an American author, storyteller, and journalist. He is a bull-runner and former boxer.

Bill Hillmann in 2013

Early life and education

Hillmann was born in Chicago in 1982,[1] and grew up on the city's North Side. He attended St. Joseph High School.[2] He has a bachelor's degree from Elmhurst College and an MFA from Columbia College Chicago.[3]

Writing and storytelling

As an author, Hillmann is the author of the novel The Old Neighborhood (2014),[4][5][6][7] and the nonfiction book Mozos: A Decade Running with the Bulls (2015)[8][9] which was translated and published in Spain as Corriendo con Hemingway (2016).[1][10]

As a journalist, Hillmann has written for NPR as well as for publications including the Toronto Star, Playboy, Chicago Tribune, Salon, Daily Mail, Los Angeles Times, Stuff, and The Washington Post.[11][12][13][3][14]

As a storyteller, Hillmann is the creator of the Windy City Story Slam.[15][16] He also created the National Story Slam, in which ten storytellers representing different storytelling series across the country performed at the main stage of the Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Lit Fest.[17][18][19] He has told stories at storytelling series in Philadelphia,[20] Portland,[21] San Francisco,[22] and Boston,[23] and won the Boulder Story Slam in Boulder, Colorado in 2014.[24] He has produced and performed in Story Slam events in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival,[25][26] has participated in Book Slam, London's literary nightclub,[27] and has told stories on NPR's The Story and Snap Judgment.[28][29]

Boxing

Hillmann is a 2002 Chicago Golden Gloves boxing champion representing the Windy City Gym and a two time selection for the Chicago Golden Gloves International Traveling Team.[3][7][30] As a boxing journalist, Hillmann was the Chicago correspondent for Fightnews, and is the special boxing contributor for the Chicago Tribune RedEye.[31][32]

Bull-running

Hillmann is an experienced participant in running of the bulls, and has been described as "the best young bull runner from the United States".[33] He has given expert commentary on the running of the bulls for CNN,[34] The Today Show,[35] CBS This Morning,[36] BBC World Service,[37] and Esquire Network.[38] His audio essay "Running with the Bulls in Pamplona" for WBEZ Chicago Public Radio won an Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association in 2010.[39]

He was inspired to join the tradition by Ernest Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises,[40][41] and has taken part in the bull runs in Pamplona since 2005.[41][42][43] In 2011 and 2012 he wrote how-to guides on the running of the bulls for Outside magazine.[43][44] By 2013 he had acquired the nickname "Buffalo Bill Hillmann", and in 2014 he co-authored the book Fiesta: How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona with Alexander Fiske-Harrison and John Hemingway.[45][46]

On July 9, 2014, a bull gored Hillmann twice in the thigh at the festival of San Fermín in Pamplona,[45][46][47] but he returned to bull-running in Pamplona in 2015,[41] and published his memoir, Mozos: A Decade Running with the Bulls.[8] In the summer of 2016 he ran with the bulls more than 200 times in towns throughout Spain.[48][49] He has stated that his favorite running of the bulls is the oldest, in Cuéllar, a small town about two hours north of Madrid, where hundreds of horsemen guide the bulls 3 miles (5 km) to the town and into the run.[41][42][50]

On July 8, 2017, he was gored by one of the bulls from José Escolar in Pamplona.[51]

Bibliography
  • The Old Neighborhood: A Novel. Chicago, Illinois: Curbside Splendor Publishing. 2014. ISBN 978-1-9404-3000-3.
  • Mozos: A Decade Running with the Bulls of Spain. Chicago, Illinois: Curbside Splendor Publishing. 2015. ISBN 978-1-9404-3053-9.
  • Corriendo con Hemingway: Un Mozo Americano en los San Fermines (in Spanish). Barcelona: Ediciones Península, Planeta Group. 2016. ISBN 978-8-4994-2521-4; translation of Mozos: A Decade Running with the Bulls of Spain

References
  1. Seoane, Andrés (6 July 2016). "Bill Hillmann: 'Para correr un encierro hay que estar dispuesto a morir'". El Cultural (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. Greenfield, John. "Back to school with Bill Hillmann, class of '99 | Feature". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  3. "Bill Hillmann Will Serve as Final Judge for the 2016 Nick Adams Short Story Contest". Associated Colleges of the Midwest. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  4. Samarov, Dmitry (11 April 2014). "Review: 'The Old Neighborhood' by Bill Hillmann". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  6. Hoffert, Barbara (3 June 2014). "Top Indie Fiction: 30 Key Titles Beyond the Best-Sellers List for Spring/Summer 2014". Library Journal.
  7. Ludwig, Jerome. "Best of Chicago 2014 – Best New Book by a Former Chicago Golden Gloves Champ: The Old Neighborhood by Bill Hillmann". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  8. Keilman, John (7 July 2015). "Two New Books Tackle The Running of the Bulls". Chicago Tribune.
  9. "Nonfiction Book Review: Mozos: A Decade Running with the Bulls of Spain by Bill Hillman". Publishers Weekly. July 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  10. Abella, Carlos (9 October 2016). "Bill Hillmann: Corriendo con Hemingway. Un mozo americano en los sanfermines". El Imparcial (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  11. "Why I would run with the bulls again". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  12. "Bill Hillman". Salon.com. 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  13. "At the Fights with Author Irvine Welsh – Playboy". 22 May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  14. "Gored author of bull-running book will return to Pamplona". Los Angeles Times. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  15. Hageman, William (25 February 2010). "The Story Slam plot thickens during finals: 5 local storytellers will step". Chicago Tribune.
  16. Clark, Alex (30 July 2010). "The new wave of literary events". The Guardian.
  17. "June 2010 – James Finn Garner". Jamesfinngarner.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  18. "Windy City Story Slam @ Empty Bottle". Gapersblock.com. 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  19. "Why read a book? : Graduate's experiences answer that question" (PDF). Stjoeshsalumni.org. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  20. "First Person Arts StorySlam: Mortified-Bill Hillman (Chicago)". YouTube. 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  21. Back Fence PDX: RUSSIAN ROULETTE (9 July 2014). "Bill Hillman at Back Fence PDX: RUSSIAN ROULETTE 6/14/2014". Retrieved 28 December 2016 – via YouTube.
  22. "Interview: Kevin Whiteley, Founder of Criminal Class Press - SF Station - San Francisco's City Guide". SF Station. 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  23. "1st Person Plural - May 2014 – mass-story.com". Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  24. "June 2014 photos". Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  25. Clark, Alex (30 July 2010). "The new wave of literary events". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2016 – via The Guardian.
  26. "Alexander Fiske-Harrison enjoys a 'story slam' at the Edinburgh Fringe". The Spectator. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  27. "Alumni". Book Slam. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  28. "The If Question". The Story. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  29. "Running With The Bulls". Snap Judgment. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  30. Hageman, William (12 August 2011). "Remarkable Person: Bill Hillmann". Chicago Tribune.
  31. "Chicago boxer Semajay Thomas a long way from murder charge". Redeyechicago.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  32. "#1 source for boxing news on the web". Fightnews.com. 2012-04-17. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  33. Frayer, Lauren (9 July 2014). "'Buffalo' Bill Hillmann, author of bull-run guide, gored at Pamplona". Los Angeles Times. Bill Hillmann is considered the best young bull runner from the United States
  34. Goodman, Al (2014-09-07). "Gored expert to run with bulls again - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  35. "American man, 20, gored by bull in Spain". TODAY.com. 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  36. "American Benjamin Miller gored at festival in Spain". CBS News. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  37. 02:06 GMT (2014-08-14). "BBC World Service - Outlook, An Unlikely Friendship Across Apartheid". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  38. "Running of the Bulls 2015: Gored Runner Bill Hillmann Returns | Esquire Network". Tv.esquire.com. 2015-10-07. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  39. "RTDNA". RTDNA. 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  40. Clayfield, Matthew (2013-04-12). "Beyond the bull in Pamplona". The Australian. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  41. Khazan, Olga (2015-07-10). "What It's Like to Be Gored at the Running of the Bulls ... and go back to run the next year". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  42. Hillmann, Bill (18 July 2014). "I got gored in Pamplona. But I will run with the bulls again". Opinion. The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  43. Hillmann, Bill (2011-06-23). "How to Survive the Running of the Bulls". Outside Online. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  44. Hillmann, Bill (2012-06-25). "How to Run With the Bulls". Outside Online. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  45. Kassam, Ashifa (9 July 2014). "Author of bullrunning survival guide gored at Pamplona festival". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  46. Minder, Raphael (9 July 2014). "Co-Author of Bull-Running Guide Is Gored in Pamplona". The New York Times.
  48. Hillmann, Bill (2016-09-29). "Chicago man locks horns with bull in Spain to rescue friend". RedEye. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  49. Gutiérrez, Natxo (September 29, 2016). "El hombre de los 200 encierros". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). Retrieved November 25, 2016 – via thedangeroussummerblog.com.
  50. Fiske-Harrison, Alexander (31 May 2013). "Spain: 'The real old stuff'". Financial Times.
  51. Wilson, Joseph (8 July 2017). "American gored at Pamplona bull run promises to run again". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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