DR. MARTY BECKER, “America’s Veterinarian,” has spent his life working toward better health for pets and the people who love them. Dr. Becker was the resident veterinary contributor on “Good Morning America” for 17 years. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Humane Association as well as its Chief Veterinary Correspondent, a founding member of Core Team Oz for “The Dr. Oz Show” and a member of the Dr. Oz Medical Advisory Panel. He has written 22 books that have sold more than 7 million copies, including three New York Times best-sellers — one of which is the fastest-selling pet book of all time, Chicken Soup for the Pet-Lovers Soul. He has been a contributor to Parade magazine, Reader’s Digest and AARP.com. Animal Radio hosts him monthly as their Chief Veterinary Correspondent. Learn more here.
LISA BEGIN-KRUYSMAN is an award-winning author and blogger. She’s published five titles in five years, mainly about the dog-human bond told in Non-Fiction and Fiction genres. Her book Dog’s Best Friend: Will Judy, Founder of National Dog Week and Dog World Publisher, (McFarland & Co., 2014) is the only biography of Captain Wm. Lewis Judy, the man credited for “bringing America to the Dogs.” A graduate of the University of Connecticut, she has studied writing with the Institute of Children’s Literature, The Society of Children’s Writers and Book Illustrators and the Highlights Foundation. A former Human Resources Associate in the entertainment industry, she currently resides in Ocean County with her husband Rich, and foster-to-forever dog Teddy. Through her artwork and writing, she aspires to educate and enlighten the world about the unique bond that exists between humans and their dogs and to ultimately improve the welfare of dogs across the nation. She has self-published and been traditionally published with two additional Proposals currently under publishing review. Learn more here.
MARK COKER founded SMASHWORDS.com in 2008 following his own unsuccessful multi-year attempt to get his novel published. He ultimately realized that the publishing industry is unable to take a risk on every author, and that they acquire books based on perceived commercial potential, but ultimately they don’t know which books will sell well. He created Smashwords so he could take a risk on every author, and let readers decide which books are worth reading. Many Smashwords authors have gone on to become USA Today and New York Times bestsellers! (Perhaps part of his success is due to his cats! Ask him *s*) Learn more here.
ELIZABETH COLLERAN, DVM, MS, DABVP (Feline) is a 1990 graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. She is the owner of two feline exclusive practices, one in Portland, Oregon founded in 2003 and the second in Chico, California founded in 1998. She received a Master’s in Animals and Public Policy in 1996 from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Colleran is an ABVP Diplomate in Feline Practice. She is also a Past President of the AAFP and member of the AAFP’s Cat Friendly Practice Task Force. Learn more here.
GWEN COOPER is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs “Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat” and “Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat”; the novel “Love Saves the Day”; and the crowd-sourced collection of cat selfies, “Kittenish”, 100% of the proceeds from which were donated to support animal rescue in Nepal following the 2015 earthquake. She is a frequent speaker at shelter fundraisers and donates 10% of her royalties from “Homer’s Odyssey” to organizations that serve abused, abandoned, and disabled animals. She also manages Homer’s social-media community, which reaches nearly two million cat enthusiasts and rescuers around the world each day. Gwen lives in Manhattan with her husband, Laurence. She also lives with her two perfect cats–Clayton the Tripod and his litter-mate, Fanny–who aren’t impressed with any of it. Learn more here.
LONNIE HULL DUPONT is executive editor at Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group and the writer of many animal stories, some of them published under the pseudonym of Callie Smith Grant. Learn more here.
DENISE FLECK created her company Sunny-dog Ink (Help People Help their Pets!™). Scores of students have learned to save pets through her classes (Pet First-Aid & CPCR, Pet Disaster Preparedness & Senior Pet Care), Pet First Aid Kits & Instructional Posters. A former studio publicist, Fleck followed her heart deciding to work with animals, and after extensive training and practice, developed her own Pet First-Aid & CPR curriculum as well as a 5 month long Animal Care course for high school students — a joint effort of the Burbank Unified School District and the Burbank Animal Shelter. Denise has shared these animal life-saving skills on CBS –TV’s The Doctors, Animal Planet, CNN and other shows and has the honor of also teaching in the homes of Oprah Winfrey, Kirstie Alley and other celebrities. Fleck is a proud recipient of several awards from the Cat Writers Association and the Dog Writers Association and the author of several books. Her book PET SAFETY BIBLE (in conjunction with Pet World Insider) and a Quickfind Books pocket guide PET DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, will be released in 2016. Denise lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband Paul and pack of rescued Akitas. Learn more here.
PATRICIA FRY has been writing for publication for over 40 years and has 54 books to her credit, including “Publish Your Book,” “Promote Your Book,” “Talk Up Your Book,” and “Propose Your Book” (Allworth Press). She’s the former Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writer’s Network). Her articles have appeared in many pet-related magazines as well as dozens focused on business, family, spiritual, travel, health, parenting, technical, regional, and writing. She’s also a published novelist, and is the author of 13 (and counting) Klepto Cat Mysteries–cozy mysteries involving an ordinary cat with some most extraordinary habits. Learn more here.
LEA-ANN GERMINDER: Germinder & Associates is a NYC-based communications firm founded by Lea-Ann Germinder, APR, Fellow PRSA. The firm provides strategic counsel, digital publishing content and national campaigns for niche markets. A solid team of in-house professionals and external partners excels in delivering high-quality work for national companies and organizations. Goodnewsforpets.com is a social media platform that curates pet/vet content about pet products, people, issues in the veterinary and pet industries. Display ads, editorial features, contests, feature interviews, product profiles and promotions are just a few examples of the many ways we can work with businesses and organizations. See more here.
LYNN THOMPSON: After a 23-year career with a major directory publisher, Lynn founded Thompson Writing & Editing in 2003. She quickly established a reputation as one of the best book editors in the business, editing many award-winning books in addition to ghostwriting a few. In 2007 she began writing a series of e-books with worksheets called A Professional Writer’s Ladder to Success, to which she continues to add today. Eight of the series have been released. Learn more here. In 2010, Lynn launched OldMaidCatLady.com to sell products for cats not carried by pet supply stores, as well as quality products for cat lovers, and plenty of education on cat behavior and care. The site has enjoyed an average 188% annual sales growth. Lynn’s annual attendance at Global Pet Expo since 2010 provides her with an insightful overview of the pet industry and awareness of trends. In 2014, she put all the knowledge gained from her experience into several marketing courses as an adjunct instructor at a local community college. She’s currently adapting these courses to be offered online through her own company. Learn more here.
Susan C. Willett is the creative force behind the award-winning website Life with Dogs and Cats where she posts original stories, photography, poetry, and humor. A BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Award winner, she is am a professional member of the Cat Writers’ Association, the Dog Writers Association of America, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She also serves as VP, Communications on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Susan is a contributing writer to Catster.com and Dogster.com as well as Petcha.com, and as a corporate communication professional, she applies years of experience in professional writing, marketing and internal communications to the business of pet blogging. With years of writing about dogs AND cats on her own site and for Catster.com and Dogster.com, she’ll share what she’s learned about some of the subtle differences between the two audiences that enable her to create consistently engaging posts.
SEE THE ENTIRE CWA & BLOGPAWS SPEAKERS LIST AT THIS LINK AND STAY TUNED FOR THE ONLINE SCHED.ORG LINK to plan your attendance.
EDITORS TAKING APPOINTMENTS
LONNIE HULL DUPONT will take book pitches for Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group (see more, above). Revell began over 125 years ago when D. L. Moody and his brother-in-law Fleming H. Revell saw the need for practical books that would help bring the Christian faith to everyday life. From there, Fleming H. Revell Publishing developed consistently solid lists which have enjoyed the presence of many notable Christian writers over the years. This same vision for books that are both inspirational and practical continues to motivate the Revell publishing group today. Whether publishing fiction, Christian living, self-help, marriage, family, or youth books, each Revell publication reflects relevance, integrity, and excellence.
JANISS GARZA has been a writer and editor for over 25 years, beginning as a rock journalist and senior editor for nationally acclaimed hard rock magazine RIP, and later spreading her topics to include vintage film, fitness, and cats. Along with being the author of several cat books, a contributor to Catster, and a columnist for CatChannel.com, Janiss also collaborated with Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister on his autobiograhpy, White Line Fever. Janiss used all the skills she learned over the decades to form FitCat Publishing, a small imprint that focuses on cause-oriented, highly niched books. FitCat’s first anthology of cat stories, Rescued, won several awards and was an Amazon best seller. The company is currently editing a second volume of Rescued stories and looking for submissions from authors who have a cause to champion and a story to tell.
ELLEN PRICE has worked for Pet Sitters International for 15+ years as editor of the Pet Sitters WORLD and as academic manager. PSI is the international membership association for more than 7,000 pet-sitting businesses. She previously worked in sports marketing for the San Antonio Express News and in the livestock publication industry. She will take pitches to write for Pet Sitters WORLD and guest blogs for PSI.