Daniele Bonfanti – Biography

My name is Daniele Bonfanti and I’m a writer. Also a kayaker, mountaineer, trail runner, open-water swimmer, surfer, and traveler—I enjoy both experiencing adventures and writing about them. As an author, I am influenced by my deep fascination for nature, its hidden secrets, and by ancient traditions.

After several publications in Italy since 2006 (including two novels: Melodia and Quintessenza), my English debut was in 2016 with the novelette Game, which got a Honorable Mention (book list) in Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year, vol.9. Another story is on the following year’s long list. Among several books and magazines, my fiction appears, alongside top authors (Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell…), in the Stoker-nominated anthologies The Beauty of Death 1 and 2, and in Flame Tree’s deluxe hardcover Supernatural Horror. In 2019, my first graphic novel came out: Unstoppable, drawn by Stefano Cardoselli—I have also translated into English and edited some of his work. “Urlan, Cosmic Cat,” a graphic novella co-authored with my wife Valentina Kay, reached #1 on Amazon.com’s Best Sellers in 2024.
You can check out the page Works for further details about my publications.

I have translated into English fiction from Spanish and Italian, including stories by Santiago Eximeno, Paolo Di Orazio, and novels by Alessandro Manzetti; with him I have also co-edited the anthology Monsters of Any Kind, nominated to the Splatterpunk Awards. My translations into Italian include novels by Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Brian Keene, Carlton Mellick III, Skipp & Spector, Richard Laymon; short and long fiction by Joe R. Lansdale, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, Poppy Z. Brite, Harlan Ellison, John A. Lindqvist, Stephen King.

My stories often tap also from my passion for music (I’m a piano player and composer, I’ve treaded a few stages as the frontman of a metal band, worked as a session man, and put in the hard yards as a sound engineer, handling everything from mixing to setting up equipment) as well as from my experience as a natural farmer and beekeeper (my primary job between 2011 and 2016). A craft embodying my love for open-air life, self-sufficiency, tradition, and ecology, allowing me to take part in a living ecosystem.

Among diverse experiences in the publishing field, I have written non-fiction, too. About ancient mysteries, esoteric matters, and paranormal phenomena; mostly for the popular Italian print magazine Hera, which I have contributed to for two years (2010-2011) with essays—three were cover features—and columns exploring the thin boundary between history and myth.
Since 2007, I work as a freelance editor and copywriter. I collaborated with several authors and publishers, co-edited anthologies, served as CEO and editor-in-chief for indie publisher Edizioni XII (2007-2011). For eight years, I also ran a middle-school fiction writing workshop.

Right after high school, the woman I’ve been living with for the last twenty-three years bewitched me, so I didn’t go to university but worked the odd jobs for a few years—while studying non-academically Semiotics, Music and Philosophy—before starting to write professionally. I learned a lot about hard work in those years and applied those lessons to the craft of writing.

Since 2019 I’ve been consulting for an Italian power supplier (currently serving as Head of Marketing and Communications) and for a group active in the field of energy efficiency. In 2023 I started my own company with my wife—a storytelling studio called Bee Lab.

Born and raised among Lake Como (Italy) and its mountains, I lived in several places. My current base camp, together with Valentina and our daughters, is between the lava fields and ocean of Lanzarote (Canary Islands).

“If you are looking for vivid imagery and high-tension storytelling, Daniele Bonfanti is your man. He writes a clean line of prose that sings with energy, and his compelling tales stand hip-deep in bravado and confidence.”
—Thomas F. Monteleone, 5-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award

“A writer of amazing talent. A natural storyteller with the unique ability to make the unbelievable seem frighteningly real.”
— Owl Goingback, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Crota