About
DANIELLE DANIEL is a writer and artist, an award-winning author and illustrator of ten books, and a finalist for the 2024 Governor General Literary Awards. She writes books for children and adults.
She is a self-taught artist and her paintings have been collected in public and private collections across Canada and throughout the US, the UK, France, and Australia.
Her novels include: Forever Birchwood, a middle grade novel set in her northern hometown, Reasons to Look at the Night Sky, her debut novel in verse, and Daughters of the Deer, a historical fiction novel—inspired by the lives of her ancestors—an Algonquin woman and a soldier/settler from France, and their firstborn daughter Jeanne.
Her picture books include: Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox, winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and a Best 100 title at the New York Public Library, Once in a Blue Moon, and You Hold Me Up (illustrator) shortlisted for the 2018 Marilyn Baillie Award, among other honours.
More recent titles include: Sometimes I Feel Like a River, Sometimes I Feel Like an Oak and I’m Afraid Said the Leaf—a 2024 Governor General Literary Awards Finalist.
She was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, the traditional territory of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and the Wahnapitae First Nations. This beautifully rugged and resilient landscape has greatly shaped and inspired her work.
Danielle was an elementary school teacher for several years and now writes and paints stories in her studio full-time.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, a B.Ed. from Laurentian University and a B.Arts/Women Studies from Ottawa University.
She lives on Mnidoo Mnis (Manitoulin Island) with her family.
How it all Started
Danielle was 35 years old when she finally began to write and paint. She was always creative, but it wasn’t until her husband’s life-altering accident in the Canadian Armed Forces that her creativity became a lifeline. While Steve channeled his loss and grief into sport—ultimately competing in the 2008 Paralympics—she turned inward, finding healing and meaning through storytelling and painting.
What began as a means of survival—simply making marks on a page—slowly became a daily practice, and ultimately, a profound personal transformation. That journey has led to the creation of thousands of painted stories and the publication of ten books, with more still unfolding.
Through art and story, she’s transformed her grief into something meaningful—work that nourishes her heart and soul every day, and now connects her to other beating hearts.