Daniel Woodrell (born March 4, 1953) is an American novelist and short story writer, renowned for his works set in the Missouri Ozarks. He is credited with coining the term "country noir" to describe his 1996 novel Give Us a Kiss. This term has frequently been used by reviewers to categorize his writing style.

Growing up in Missouri, seventy miles downriver from Hannibal, Mark Twain inspired Woodrell from a young age. His literary influences also include Hemingway, James Agee, Flannery O'Connor, and Faulkner, among others. He enlisted in the Marines at seventeen, later receiving his bachelor's degree at twenty-seven, and graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.