Danial Neil was born in New Westminster, British Columbia and grew up in North Delta. He began writing in his teens, journaling and writing poetry. He made a decision to be a writer in 1986 and took his first creative writing course in Langley with Alive magazine editor Rhody Lake. Danial worked steadily at his craft. His short story Grace was published in the 2003 Federation of BC Writers anthology edited by Susan Musgrave. He went on to participate in the Write Stretch Program with the Federation of BC Writers teaching free-verse poetry to children through the Delta Schoolboard. He won the poetry prize at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference four times and studied Creative Writing at UBC. His poetry and fiction articulate a close relationship with the land, its felt presence in his narrative and vision. He has written twenty-two novels since beginning his writing journey. He is the author of The Killing Jars (Trafford 2006), Flight of the Dragonfly (Borealis Press 2009), My June (Ronsdale Press 2014), The Trees of Calan Gray (Oolichan Books 2015), Dominion of Mercy (NeWest Press 2021). The Sum of One Man’s Pleasure is Danial’s sixth published novel. In addition to having his novels celebrated for their wonderfully crafted characters, he was a contributor to poetry anthology Worth More Standing published by Caitlin Press in 2022. Danial lives in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.