Daniel A. Olivas's first full-length play "Waiting for Godínez" was selected for the Playwrights' Arena Summer Reading Series (2020), The Road Theatre's Summer Playwrights Festival (2021), and the Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival (2022), and was a semi-finalist for the American Blues Theater's 2021 Blue Ink Playwriting Award. Olivas was selected for Circle X Theatre Co.'s inaugural Evolving Playwrights Group where he adapted his acclaimed 2011 novel "The Book of Want" for the stage with a reading held in 2021. His first fully-staged play, "Waiting" (produced by Playwrights' Arena), had its world premiere on July 24, 2021.

Olivas received his degree in English literature from Stanford University, and law degree from UCLA. He is an award-winning author of ten books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry including, "How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories" (University of Nevada Press), and "The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories" (University of Arizona Press). He has written for many publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Review of Books, La Bloga, Los Angeles Times, Jewish Journal, and BOMB. By day, he is an attorney and makes his home in Southern California with his wife.