Daniele Bonfanti – Biography

(Versione italiana)

My name is Daniele Bonfanti and I’m an adventure enthusiast—mountaineer, trail runner, kayaker, open-water swimmer, and traveler—enjoying it as well as writing about it. As an author of adventurous science fiction and horror, I am mostly 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. 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 the deluxe hardcover Supernatural Horror. In 2019, my first graphic novel came out: Unstoppable, drawn by Stefano Cardoselli — I have also translated into English some of his works. 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.
See Bibliography for details about my publications.
I am an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

My stories often tap also from my experience as a natural farmer and beekeeper (my primary job between 2011 and 2016). A craft which embodies 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 print magazine Hera, which I have contributed to for two years with essays (three were cover features) and columns exploring the thin boundary between history and myth.
In the past, for about five years, I learned the ropes working in Italy as a freelance copyeditor and article writer. I worked with several authors and publishers, and co-edited anthologies. For eight years, I also ran a middle-school fiction writing workshop.

After living on a Macaronesian island (Spain) for a while, I came back to my native Lake Como and its mountains. My base camp is now a weird, old house haunted by ghosts, daughters and a wife.