Danielle Dattolo is a writer, editor, and proofreader based in New England. Currently, she works at an academic press and runs a virtual critique group with writers based around the country. She was named as a prize winner in the 2024 international #50PreciousWords contest, and in 2023 she was chosen as a mentee in the Write Team Mentorship Program. For past work, she won The Mercury Fiction Prize and received a Stephen Crane Fiction Prize.

Writer & Editor

Creative Writing Portfolio

ADVENTURES OF A KID PALEONTOLOGIST

In the world’s oldest fossil forest, a young girl hunts for dinosaur bones on a family hike. This children's story was named a winner of Vivian Kirkfield’s 2024 #50PreciousWords contest. Read here.
VITA MAKES A TEAM

Anxious student athlete Vita and her best friend Mickey struggle to complete their bucket list—and keep their connection strong—when Vita is taken to an off-the-grid sleepaway camp. This MG manuscript was selected for the 2023 Write Team Mentorship Program. Learn more here.
PARIAH

A young boy faces an uphill battle to protect the family reputation when his alcoholic father leaves them penniless. In 2015, these vignettes—excerpted from a longer work of historical fiction—won The Mercury Fiction Prize and received one of the Stephen Crane Fiction Prizes. Read here.
SWEET NOTHINGS

After awkward wallflower Lea is recruited into a syndicate of assassins, she must take out her school's star athlete—and first crush—when he becomes her first target. This YA short story closed out the 2015 issue of The Mercury. Read here.