PRESENTERS: Cat Writers’ Association 2026 Annual Conference

MEET OUR SPEAKERS

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PresentATIONS/WorkshopS

Presenter biographies appear in alphabetical order. Additional presenters will be included soon.

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Steve Dale, CABC, is the author of a popular blog, www.stevedalepetworld.com, and is an international speaker at veterinary meetings, to pet parents, and for Royal Caribbean cruise line. For 25 years, he’s hosted Steve Dale’s Pet World, WGN Radio. His many TV appearances include Oprah to National Geographic Explorer. He was a contributing editor for Decoding Your Dog and authored the introduction for that book and Decoding Your Cat. He has contributed to numerous other books, including veterinary textbooks. His most recent book is Ask the Dog, his first children’s book. He wrote a Tribune syndicated newspaper column for 19 years. Among his numerous awards are the AVMA named Steve Dale Excellence in Veterinary Media Award. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the EveryCat Health Foundation, Human Animal Bond Association, Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, and Anti Cruelty in Chicago. 

Brad Foster

PANEL: Art Marketing (Main Track)

Brad Foster is an artist/illustrator/cartoonist who lives to draw, and draws to live. He has created thousands of pieces of art, from cartoons to book covers, many of which featured cats of all shapes, sizes, and varieties.

Patricia Fry

PANEL: Secrets to Successful Feline Fiction (Main Track)

Patricia Fry has been a professional member of CWA for 17 years and the author of over 145 books. Her first book was published in 1978, and she established her own publishing company, Matilija Press, in 1983. Patricia currently writes and publishes the Klepto Cat Mysteries and the Calico Cat Mysteries–two cozy mystery series with cats. She lives in Ojai, CA with Olivia, a sweet and sassy calico and the feline heroine in Patricia’s Calico Cat Mysteries.

Debbie Holzer

PRESENTATION: How to Tell a Feral From a Stray (Rescue Track)

Debbie Holzer has been with Alley Cat Rescue since late 2020. She describes her role working on fundraising, communications, and cat care as a dream opportunity to spend every day doing something meaningful for animals. Before coming to Alley Cat Rescue, Debbie had volunteered extensively with different dog and cat rescues since her teenage years, while she worked professionally in nonprofit development and administration. She had never considered the possibility of a career in animal welfare, and now she can’t imagine being happy doing anything else. Debbie lives with four special cats but considers all of the fosters and medical cases she cares for to be part of her family as well.

Dan Koller has published the Coppell Chronicle, a weekly newsletter about a Dallas suburb, since 2021 via Substack. He will discuss the ins and outs of the free platform, which anyone can use to publish a newsletter about any topic.

Mollie Hunt

PANEL: Secrets to Successful Feline Fiction (Main Track)

Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series: the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries featuring a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip, and the Tenth Life Paranormal Mysteries involving a ghost cat. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy presents extraordinary cats saving the world. She also released a COVID memoir she calls, “an ode to the very real and healing presence of cats.” Her cat health memoir, “Creating Comfort for Your Senior Cat: Stories, Poems, and Illustrations of Cats in Their Golden Years,” recently won a Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association. Mollie’s cat writing has earned her various other honors, including CWA Muse Medallions and World’s Best Litter-ary Awards. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Michael Brim Distinguished Service Award (CWA) and the Catalyst Council Connect to Care Award.

Mary Christine Kane

PRESENTATION: Poetry Party, a Generative Workshop (Main Track)
PANEL: Swipe Right on Fluffy: Writing Adoption Profiles That Get Pets Adopted (Rescue Track)

Mary Christine Kane is a CWA council member, has an MFA in writing, and has had a 30-year career in corporate and nonprofit communications. Her poetry and other writing have appeared widely in publications such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, HuffPost, Arkana, Cream City Review, Business Insider, and elsewhere. “Between the stars where you are lost” is the name of her poetry collection, which was published by Finishing Line Press. Mary teaches writing at the White Bear Center for the Arts in Minnesota and is a regular participant at live storytelling events. Since 2017, she has also served in various positions for cat rescues, including cat foster, mentor, blog writer and cat care volunteer.

BIO: Arden Moore happily wears many collars in the pet world. She is a best-selling pet author, an in-demand Fear Free certified speaker, and host of the Oh Behave show, the longest-running pet podcast. Known as America’s Pet Health and Safety Coach, Arden teaches thousands all over the world in her veterinarian-approved Pet First Aid 4U program as a master certified pet first aid/CPR instructor. Joining her once again is the confident, charming Pet Safety Cat Casey. This orange tabby is a proud shelter alum and a certified therapy cat who travels all over America with Arden. Learn more at www.ardenmoore.com and www.petfirstaid4u.com. 

Dusty Rainbolt

PANEL: Cage cards that get Fluffy noticed (Rescue Track)
PANEL: Dare to be Bad: Strategies for Finally Finishing Your Work (Main Track)
PANEL: Lights, Camera, Adoption! Photography Secrets for Hard-to-Place Pets (Rescue Track)
PANEL: Swipe Right on Fluffy: Writing Adoption Profiles That Get Pets Adopted (Rescue Track)

Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning journalist and prolific author who has written thousands of articles and columns during her decades-long career. Her books span feline health and behavior, humorous science fiction, fantasy, and horror. An in-the-trenches cat rescuer, she has rescued and re-homed more than 4,500 cats and kittens and has specialized for years in feline neonatal care and trauma recovery.

Amber Royer

PRESENTATION: Are You Ready to Self-Publish? The mechanics of Self-Publishing (Main Track)
PANEL: Dare to be Bad: Strategies for Finally Finishing Your Work (Main Track)

Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is a hybrid-published author, with books published through Angry Robot Books and Joffe Books, as well as the personal imprint she co-runs with her husband Jake. Amber also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. Her workbook/textbook Story Like a Journalist and her Thoughtful Journal series allow her to connect with writers. Amber and Jake live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them at local coffee shops or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs. They both love to travel, and Amber records her adventures on Instagram – along with pics of her pair of tuxedo cats, Sean and Addi, who were rescued by a member of Cat Writers’ Association. Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com.

Jake Royer

PRESENTATION: Are You Ready to Self-Publish? The mechanics of Self-Publishing (Main Track)

Jacob Royer produced the Haiku Eki Stamp book, and is the co-author of the There Are Herbs in My Chocolate cookbook. Jake’s gardening blog Gardener’s Watch has been going on for 18 years, and Jake has been blogging in general for over 21 years. He is the editor of and producer of Amber Royer’s Story Like a Journalist radio podcast. He also produces his and Amber’s personal imprint, Golden Tip Press, where he handles cover design, internal layout, and marketing. His day job is working with an environmental engineering firm helping with cleanup, restoration, and disaster prevention projects, often in wetland and coastal areas. Jake and Amber live in the DFW Area, with their two mischievous rescued tuxedo cats, Sean and Addi.

Amy Shojai

PANEL: Secrets to Successful Feline Fiction (Main Track)
PRESENTATION: Writing Like Cats and Dogs: The Difference Between Cats & Dogs-How to Include Believable Animal Characters in Fiction (Main Track)

Amy Shojai, CABC, is a certified animal behavior consultant and nationally known authority on pet care and behavior. She began her career as a veterinary technician and is the award-winning author of more than 35 prescriptive nonfiction pet books and a pet-centric thriller series. Amy has written widely in the pet field on training, behavior, health care (both allopathic and holistic), and the health benefits of keeping cats and dogs, and has published more than 2000 articles and columns. Amy frequently lectures about writing as well as a variety of pet-related issues. She has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and in USA Weekend, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Woman’s World, and many other leading newspapers and magazines.

Jessica Spawn

PRESENTATION: Visibility Is the New Bestseller List: How Authors Get Seen, Known & Remembered (Main Track)

Jessica Spawn is an award-winning children’s author, filmmaker, marketing strategist, and lifelong cat enthusiast who has built much of her creative career around storytelling, community, and, naturally, cats. She is the author of The Christmas Kitten and co-author of the award-winning The Vacation Kitten, a water-safety children’s book that has reached thousands of families. As founder of Hungry Cat Media and host of Gal on the Prowl, Jessica helps businesses, creatives, and authors turn great ideas into brands people actually notice. With nearly a decade of experience in social media, content creation, video, events, and digital marketing, she brings a practical, playful approach to visibility, helping authors move beyond “buy my book” and build communities, partnerships, and opportunities around the stories they create.

Robert Smith

PANEL: Secrets to Successful Feline Fiction (Main Track)

Robert J. Smith is the award-winning author of the Petectives mystery series, translating the adventures of his cats Yoshi and Gatsby into humorous, character-driven whodunits. His work has been recognized with the 2022 “World’s Best Cat Litter‑ary Award”, a 2016 Watty Award, and both Yoshi and Gatsby were named runners‑up for Most Distinctive Cat Character in the 2017 Stephen Memorial Book Awards. Since the release of his debut novel Petectives in 2012, Smith has expanded the series to include titles such as Petectives: Under Fire, Petectives: Stalking Horse, Petectives: Rainbow Bridge, and The Fourth Cat. His work has been recognized with numerous honors, including a 2016 Watty Award, the 2022 “World’s Best Cat Litter-ary Award,” and multiple Certificates of Excellence from the Cat Writers Association.

Ruth E. “I can write about anything!”® Thaler-Carter (www.writerruth.com) is an award-winning writer/editor who is the Cat Writers’ Association (CWA) blog chair and secretary. She’s been writing and editing for pay since high school and freelancing full-time since 1984, and recently received almost two dozen awards for her writing and editing work from New Mexico Press Women, including one for the most awards! She owns the An American Editor blog; is the author/publisher of “Sometimes You Save the Cat”; and provides editing and proofreading for several outlets. Ruth is also active in New Mexico Press Women, SouthWest Writers, the National Association of Independent Writers & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists/Freelance Community, National Writers Union, and Editorial Freelancers Association. She shares her life with Skitter, the world’s best cat.

Lynn Maria Thompson

PRESENTATION: Getting Down to Business: The Serious Side of What We Do (Main Track)

Lynn Maria Thompson helps entrepreneurial writers market their work and operate their businesses more effectively. In addition to her An Author’s Guide to… series, she wrote The Feline CEO, which explores leadership principles through the lens of cat behavior. Also the CWA’s immediate past president, Lynn has now been a self-employed writer and editor for as long as she worked in the corporate world…which is longer than she’d care to admit! She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her three feline mentors, Captain Roughy, Gilligan, and Matilda Stormkitty. Learn more at her website, thompsonwriting.com.

Jody Wallace

PANEL: Secrets to Successful Feline Fiction (Main Track)

Jody Wallace’s 30+ titles include sf/f romance, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. Jody has employed her Master’s Degree in Creative Writing to work as a college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, and web designer. Her fiction features diverse protagonists, action, adventure, humor, and plenty of cats.

Mel. White

PANEL: Art Marketing (Main Track)
PANEL: Dare to Be Bad: Strategies for Finally Finishing Your Work (Main Track)
PANEL: Lights, Camera, Adoption! Photography Secrets for Hard-to-Place Pets (Rescue Track)

Mel. White writes science fiction and fantasy — her debut, “Mark Twain and the Notable Mare,” appeared in DAW’s Alternate Heroes — and draws it too, having co-written and illustrated the Duncan & Mallory graphic novels. She holds a PhD in Information Science, which mostly gets used to overthink how stories get told. Off the page, she needle felts cats, which checks out, since her internet avatar has been a cat typing at a keyboard since roughly the dawn of the internet. She has always owned cats. She’s currently owned by one Esme Chuffington, her paw-ditor-in-chief.

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