Danna Mathias Steele

Danna Mathias Steele – Designer

Cover/interior designer with 15+ years experience. Worked for Amazon.com and small publishers. A passion for beautiful, simplistic books.

Overview

With over a decade of experience in the professional publishing industry, I’m a firm believer that you should always judge a book by it’s cover. I’m passionate about well-executed, thoughtful design and aim to bring that understanding to every book I help create.

I've got degrees in both graphic design and English literature, curating a distinct skill set when it comes to visually communicating a book's themes and tones. I can't wait to help you bring your project to life!

Services
Non-Fiction
Art Biographies & Memoirs Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Fiction
Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Poetry Women's Fiction
Languages
English

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2017 — Present
Book covers, typesetting, branding/logos and wedding invitation design.

Amazon.com

Jan, 2011 — Jan, 2017 (about 6 years)
Develop and manage creative direction for top-selling authors and public figures entering the publishing industry. Create strong publication series identities in house, including interior layout design and typesetting, production design, cover concept development, and print file creation.

Portfolio

A Little Bit Culty: Navigating Cults, Control and Coercion

Edmondson, Sarah

Trace 120 Press

Cover Design
Then He Was Gone: A Novel

Booth, Isabel

Crooked Lane Books

Cover Design
The Better Mother: A Thriller

van der Kleut, Jennifer

Crooked Lane Books

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
The House on the Rocks

Donley, Alexa

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Ellis River

Ehrlich, Nicki

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Toska

Cabrera, Elizabeth C

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
The Murder of Sarah Grosvenor

Withycombe, Betsy

Cover Design
The Color Teil: Life, Work, and Inspiration

Duncan, Teil

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
All the Natural Beauties: A Suspense Thriller (Detective CJ O'Hara Debut)

Deal, John

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
All Things That Deserve to Perish: A Novel of Wilhelmine Germany

Mack, Dana

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Salt the Snow

Callaghan, Carrie

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Little Things: A Novel

Fillion, Amy

Cover Design
The Magnificent Maggie

McFain, Rod

Author Rod McFain

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
The Pomegranate

Schwaidelson, S. J.

Cover Design Book Interior Design
One Fine Day

Padilla, Jenae G

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Immigrant Secrets: The Search for My Grandparents

Mancini, John Francis

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Beebe and Bostelmann: a historical novel

POLITSCH, KENT

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
The Second: A Memoir of Love and Commitment

Durda, Colleen Burns

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Blue Sky Gone

Farmer, J.S

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Surviving To Tell The Tale: A Time To Forgive

Vincent, Richard A

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Witch's Shadow

Cain, Philip

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
40 for 40: Forty stories, sayings, and lessons learned from a non-celebrity, Costco-shopping, minivan-driving, extremely grateful married father of 5 kids who is turning forty years old.

O'Donnell, Dennis

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Broken and Breaking Free

Amy Fillion

Is it possible to transcend the boundaries of the life you were born into, and if so, what will you sacrifice?Susan Dubois is the youngest member of a poor French-Canadian Catholic family resi... read more
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Will There Be Wine?: A Novel

Cubbison, Ms. Whitney

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
The King of Kreskin Avenue

A.K. Vitberg

The King of Kreskin Avenue is the powerful tale of the connection between Mario Colucci, a highly decorated, emotionally scarred Korean War hero who’s the neighborhood oddity, and a sixteen-ye... read more
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
HARBOR BLUES a novella

Cheryl Devenney

A decades old cold murder case. A fed-up LAPD cop's wife. A fresh homicide. All collide amid a sea of blackmail and murder.A 24 year-old unsolved murder case re-surfaces when Melanie, wife of ... read more
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Sex Talk: How Biological Sex Influences Gender Communication Differences Throughout Life's Stages

Furlich, Dr. Stephen A.

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Help Yourself to Helping Yourself: How to cleanse your overflowing plate of responsibilities, change the ambiance of your life, and start from scratch

Parrish, Amber N

Cover Design Book Interior Design
The Life and Times of Dr. Maximus Schwantz Aka Dr. Michael Swank

Swank

Cover Design
Sunshine in the Delta: A Novel

Erica M. Sandifer

From author Erica Sandifer comes Sunshine in the Delta, a tale of life and love and everything in between, set in the Mississippi Delta during the early 1960s. Money, Mississippi, just beyond ... read more
Cover Design

Danna Mathias has 268 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Rod M.

Rod M.

Mar, 2024

Pinned
So many reviewers say they can't say enough good things about Danna. They talk about what a pleasure she is to work with. Both statements are spot on. But what is more important, at least to me, is the quality and creativity of the cover she created for me. I could not be more pleased. The cover ...
Read more
Jim R.

Jim R.

Mar, 2024

Pinned
Danna Mathias Steel is an excellent cover artist. She’s done two covers for me, and I will come back to her for more in the future. She is highly intuitive about what I want in a cover design. She works fast, and deals quickly with changes, and keeps you well informed on the progress of the pr...
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Suzanne M.

Suzanne M.

Feb, 2024

Pinned
I cannot say enough about my collaboration with Danna. Her work is stellar. Danna did the cover and interior of my book and workbook. I am THRILLED with the results - everything exceeded my expectations. She nailed the book covers on the first try, totally understanding what I was going for (whi...
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Timothy M.

Timothy M.

Jun, 2026

Danna was great to work with throughout the collaboration. Her communication was straight forward, thoughtful and timely. She provided awesome proofs and was very understanding when I made changes, even a couple that I'd overlooked on previous proofs. Her feedback and ideas were very thorough. I ...
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Rob L.

Rob L.

Jun, 2026

Danna was fantastic to work with throughout the entire process. From the very beginning, she clearly outlined her process, timelines, deliverables, and expectations, which made the project feel organized and stress-free. She was highly collaborative, receptive to feedback, and proactive in offer...
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