In her autobiographical work Again Calls the Owl, Craven devotes a great deal of attention to her preparation for writing I Heard the Owl Call My Name and describes the real people on whom she based her characters. She also discusses the impact of the novel and the film on the Kwakiutl and on her own life.

The 1973 made-for-television movie version of the novel is a sensitive rendition. Directed by Daryl Duke and starring Tom Courtenay, Dean Jagger, Paul Stanley, Marianne Jones, and George Clutesi, the film features haunting music and breathtaking views of British Columbia. The movie, however, puts much more emphasis on the departure of the young people than on Mark's spiritual education. It also makes a significant and possibly disturbing change in the plot. Where, in the novel, Mark (accompanied by Jim) is accidentally killed in his boat by falling trees and earth...