Danielle Daniel is a Canadian author and illustrator.
Daniel grew up in Greater Sudbury. She received a Bachelor of Education from Laurentian University, a Bachelor of Arts in women's studies from Ottawa University, and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of British Columbia.
Daniel started her career as an elementary school teacher. She began her career as an author when she published Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox (2015), a children's picture book. In 2016, Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and was a finalist for First Nation Communities Read; the following year, it was a finalist for the Blue Spruce Award. Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox was the first in a collection, followed by Sometimes I Feel Like a River (2023) and Sometimes I Feel Like an Oak (2024). Since her first publication, she has written and illustrated several children's picture books. In 2022, she published her first middle grade novel, Forever Birch, as well as her first adult novel, Daughters of the Deer. In 2025, she launched the published company Mighty Village Books, which specializes in children's literature by Canadians from marginalized backgrounds, particularly in Northern Ontario.
Daniel is married to Sergeant Steve Daniel. Throughout the first years of their marriage, Sergeant Daniel was often on military tours. In 2005, a parachuting accident resulted in him becoming paralyzed. Daniel has discussed her experiences of being a military wife, along with Sergeant Daniel's later accident, in her memoir, The Dependent (2017).
As of 2026, Daniel lives with her family on Manitoulin Island.
Awards +Awards for Daniel's workYearAwardAwardResult2016Sometimes I Feel Like a FoxFirst Nation Communities ReadFinalistMarilyn Baillie Picture Book AwardWinner2017Blue Spruce AwardFinalist2018You Hold Me UpMarilyn Baillie Picture Book AwardFinalist2022Forever BirchwoodNorthern Lights Book Award: Middle School Book of the YearWinner2023Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book AwardsFinalistSilver Birch AwardFinalist2024Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award: SundogsSelectionI'm Afraid, Said the LeafGovernor General's Award for English-language children's illustrationFinalist2025IODE Jean Throop Book AwardFinalistMarilyn Baillie Picture Book AwardFinalist2026Reasons to Look at the Night SkyDavid Booth Children's and Youth Poetry AwardFinalistReasons to Look at the Night SkyManitoba Young Readers' Choice AwardFinalist
Publications
Children's books
Adult books
References