About Danielle ∞
“It’s often said that writers write to express emotions that are not allowed in daily conversation. Danielle Valenilla’s writing is honest, raw, and emotional and plows the landscape of those taboo topics.”
— Kurt Meyer, Author of Stardust and The Salvage Man
Danielle Valenilla is a Kentucky poet and lifewriting enthusiast whose work delves into the themes of healing and identity excavation.
Writing since childhood, Danielle received her first award at nine years old for her personal essay, "Why School is Important." As an adult, her first published poem, "Lessons in Fellatio," was accepted by Butler University’s literary magazine Manuscripts and became the featured poem in her debut poetry chapbook, Fun Dip & Other Misfortunes.
Danielle holds a BS and MSEd from Butler University, where her thesis focused on lifewriting—writing about one’s life as a form of research and autoethnography. She is a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature and a fellow of the Hoosier Writing Project through the National Writing Project.
Her work has been published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Poetry In Motion Publishing House, the HERALD NewsHawk, and the Noblesville Cultural Arts Commission. Danielle has also judged the Poetry category for the 2014 Indiana State Federation of Poetry Clubs’ 36th Annual Fall Rendezvous Contest and has been a featured reader at many literary events and book launches.
As a writer, Danielle believes in the transformative power of truth in writing. Her work often centers on healing quests and confronting inner struggles, believing that once you write something down, you give yourself permission to let go. Poetry, for her, is a place where both the writer and reader can find freedom and synchronicity in the brutal vulnerability of honesty.
Danielle writes about facing the villain within, the parts of ourselves we try to ignore or hide. Readers can expect a confronting experience, but also words that hold your hand through that discomfort.
Outside of writing, Danielle moves through the world as a multi-passionate entertainer through Catrina performance, theater, and occasional cosplay. She is neurodivergent, diagnosed late in adulthood as autistic and ADHD (AuDHD). This revelation, though initially painful, was a moment of coming home to herself. She celebrates her Mexican and Scottish heritage and identifies as queer.
Currently, Danielle is working on her next chapbook and returning to the world of submissions.
Credits & Honors
-
2013
Featured Reader: “That Girl”
Love, Lust, & Poetry at the Nickel Plate Arts Center
Event date: Feb. 14, 2013
Featured Reader: “When Strangers Make it Rain” from The Polk Street Review 2013
Release Party at the Logan Street Sanctuary
Event date: Nov. 9, 2013
2014
Contest Judge: Poetry Category
2014 Indiana State Federation of Poetry Clubs’ 36th Annual Fall Rendezvous Contest
2025
Historias Latinas en Lexington Finalist
BLEND 2025 at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center
Poetry contributions: “How to Be a Bridge Person When You’re a Light-Skinned Latina in Kentucky”
Produced by: Camilo Eduardo Quintana, Casa de la Cultura, Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center
Event date: Sept. 19, 2025
-
Manuscripts., Vol. 76, Iss. 1, Article 23
Butler University
Copyright © 2009 by Danielle E. R. Garland
Writing contributions: “Lessons in Fellatio” pp. 33
Edited and Produced by: Kelly Fritz and Christina Lear
Fun Dip & Other Misfortunes
Danielle Valenilla, KDP Publishing
20 December 2014
Copyright © 2014 by Danielle Valenilla
Cover Art, Photographs, and Design by: Cuong Tran
Illustrated by: Megan Tran
Teaching as a Human Experience: An Anthology of Contemporary Poems
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
1 January 2015
Copyright © 2015 by Danielle Valenilla
Writing contributions: "I RISE" pp. 149-151
Edited and Produced by: Karen J. Head and Patrick Blessinger
Poems To F*ck To: A collection of sexy, seductive, scintillating poetry
Poetry In Motion Publishing House
28 February 2015
Copyright © 2015 by Danielle Valenilla
Poetry contributions: "Lessons in Fellatio" · "Machine #6" · "Orgasm" pp. 24-26
Compilated by: Jason Brain (Author) and C.R. Cohen (Contributor)
Southern Fried Poetry #Haikuesdays
Instagram @sofriedpoetry
6 September 2021
Danielle Valenilla @daniellevalenilla
Poetry contributions: “Furniture Person”
Livina Press: Womanhood
Livina Press
8 March 2025
Copyright © 2025 by Masthead
Poetry contributions: "Second Mom” pp. 3-5
Edited and Produced by: Laci F. Hector (Founder and Editor-in-Chief)
Unapologetically Us: Disabled, Proud, And Resilient
A Zine By the Disability Community For the Disability Community, Issue #2 - Voted “Best in the Zine”
14 June 2025
Copyright © 2025
Poetry contributions: "What I Am and Am Not Saying About Embodiment” pp. 30-31
Produced by: Cat Contillo, Larissa Minner, and Nathan Chung
-
HERALD NewsHawk
Copyright © 2006 by Danielle Garland
Writing contributions: “The Imperative Part-Time Job” p. 9
13 December 2006
Print only.
Each Fork Counts
HWP National Writing Project
Copyright © 2012 by Danielle Valenilla
Writing contributions: “It’s Complicated” · “Haiku Set: The Process” · “Dear Everyone” pp. 56-61
Edited and Produced by: Joe Akers and Steve Fox
Print only.
The Polk Street Review, Vol. 3
Noblesville Cultural Arts Commission
1 January 2013
Copyright © 2013 by Danielle Valenilla
Writing contributions: "When Strangers Make It Rain" pp. 110-115
Edited and Produced by: Bill Kenley and Kurt Meyer
Art Direction and Design by: Andrea Haydon
The Polk Street Review, Vol. 4
Noblesville Cultural Arts Commission
1 January 2014
Copyright © 2014 by Danielle Valenilla
Writing contributions: "Clear All History" pp. 37-38
Edited and Produced by: Bill Kenley and Kurt Meyer
Book Design and Layout by: Andrea Boucher
Cover Artist: Gabriel Lehman
Additional Editing: Celeste Williams
-
Straight Enough: A Memoir
Audible
12 February 2024
Copyright ©2021 Lorinda Boyer (P)2024 Lorinda Boyer
Hard copy originally published by: Sidekick Press
Written by: Lorinda Boyer
Narrated by: Danielle Noonan
*When I provide voiceover work, I publish my credits under Danielle Noonan.
“Valenilla’s prose is authentic and tough—even dark. That’s what makes her sensitivity and humor all the more surprising and poignant. She dares to explore the lonely, heartbreaking places in the heart via her writing. She knows there’s treasure there.”
— Bill Kenley, Author of High School Runner: Freshman