By Mewla Young and Dusty Rainbolt
The 32nd Annual Cat Writers’ Association (CWA) Conference is coming to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex November 6–7, 2026. With an exciting lineup of workshops, networking opportunities, special events, and plenty of cat-loving camaraderie, you won’t want to miss it.
Calling all cat authors, journalists, photographers, artists, illustrators, broadcasters, podcasters, veterinarians, TNR teams, rescue professionals, and other pet professionals! Register now for the CWA 32nd Annual Conference.
Meow Y’all: Saddle Up for the Future of Pet Media
The CWA’s 32nd Annual Conference theme, “Meow Y’all: Saddle Up for the Future of Pet Media,” captures the spirit of the event: looking ahead, learning new skills, making connections, and having a whole lot of fun along the way.
Conference Chair Andrea Dorn and Co-Chair Dusty Rainbolt have put together two full days of engaging workshops in two exciting tracks. The Communications Professionals Track features the outstanding educational content CWA is known for. A Main Track ticket includes access to both workshop tracks and special evening networking events. The Saturday night CWA Awards Banquet requires a separate ticket and is available for an additional charge.
And this year, we’re also excited to offer a specialty track: the Rescue Media and Adoption Success Track,
One Conference: Two Tracks
A Special Track for Rescue and Shelter Professionals and Volunteers
The Rescue Media and Adoption Success Track meets a pressing need for people who work or volunteer in animal rescue, shelters, or TNR — or anyone who wants to use their skills to improve the lives of animals.
You need practical ways to help pets be adopted. These cutting-edge workshops offer techniques to get hard-to-place animals noticed and connected with adopters, so they live can out their lives in loving forever homes.
Rescue Media and Adoption Success Track topics include:
- Photography secrets for hard-to-place pets
- How to tell a feral cat from a stray
- An introduction to cat first aid
- Writing compelling pet adoption profiles
- Writing irresistible cage cards
- Using social media to connect adoptable pets with their perfect families
You’ll come away from these two days of workshops with ideas, techniques, and strategies that can make a real-world difference for animals in need.
Our Main CWA Annual Conference Track for Cat Writers, Artists, and Other Content Creators
Whether you write pet fiction, create art, work in journalism, manage communications, or want to stay ahead of changing social media trends, the Communications Professionals Track has something for you.
The Communications Professionals Track workshops will cover topics including:
- Writing successful feline fiction
- Self-publishing your work
- Creating a winning book cover
- Marketing your art
- Using social media to cut out the middleman
- Making money by creating graphic novels
- Writing poetry
- Finding and working with editors and proofreaders
- Advances in feline medicine
- Social media trends for today and the future
- Creating believable cat and dog characters
- Running a successful business as a writer or other creative professional
- Finishing that stalled project
The Communications Professionals Track attendees will also have access to all Rescue Track presentations.
Whether you’re just starting out, building a career, growing a business, or simply looking to sharpen your skills, you’ll leave with new ideas and practical tools.
CWA Conference Special Events 🎉
Of course, CWA conferences are about more than workshops. They’re mainly about connecting with fellow cat-loving professionals, making new friends, and having fun.
Enjoy special get-togethers and surprise extras with the Communications Professionals Track (full conference) registration, including these fun networking events:
Thursday Night Swag Bag-Stuffing Mixer
The conference festivities begins on Thursday evening with our Swag Bag-Stuffing Mixer. This informal gathering is the perfect opportunity to mingle, meet new pet-loving creators, reconnect with CWA friends, and help get those fabulous conference swag bags ready for attendees.
Friday Fun Night
On Friday evening, join us for Fun Night! It’s a chance to kick back, play games, make new connections, and spend time with fellow animal lovers — including our wonderful sponsors. Once again, we’ll have a showing of the official CatVideoFest, curated for us by CatVideoFest creator Will Braden.
The Cat Writers’ Association Awards Banquet
The CWA Awards Banquet is a highlight of the conference: a fun and elegant evening celebrating the creativity, talent, and achievements of the cat communications community.
The evening begins with a 6 p.m. reception, followed by the 7 p.m. banquet and dinner. Master of Ceremonies Arden Moore will present the keynote address, “Reinventing Yourself in the Pet Industry When You Don’t Have Nine Lives.”
After dinner, we’ll celebrate the year’s outstanding achievements with the presentation of the prestigious Muse Medallions and Special Awards. One banquet ticket price includes the reception, banquet gala, dinner, keynote, and awards ceremony.
Come for the workshops. Stay for the connections.
Come join colleagues who share your passion for all-things-feline! Whether you’re a longtime CWA member, first-time attendee, seasoned professional, rescue volunteer, or simply someone who loves cats and wants to learn, you’re warmly welcome at the 32nd Annual CWA Conference.
Don’t wait: Register now!
We look forward to seeing you in Dallas/Fort Worth for “Meow Y’all: Saddle Up for the Future of Pet Media” conference.
Use these links to find out more and register:
- Learn more about the special Rescue Media and Adoption Success Track.
- Learn more about the main CWA conference Communications Professionals Track.
- Read about the amazing lineup of CWA 2026 Conference Workshops.
- Meet the CWA 2026 Conference Presenters.
I usually make it a point not to travel in the winter months, but I’ll be at the 2026 CWA conference in Dallas in November with bells on! Not only do I have the honor of being a speaker, but I know from previous experience that this is one of the best conferences I can attend – great information, fun events, and delightful colleagues. I always learn new things, make new friends, and have some fun. What more could we ask of a conference?
Looking forward to seeing my fellow cat writers (and illustrators, designers, photographers, video pros, etc.) at “Meow Y’all: Saddle Up for the Future of Pet Media”!
It is too far for me to visit the US at the current time. Sadly as there is no virtual component I look forward to hearing from those who are attending and who will report on their blogs.
I’m sorry you won’t be there, but we really needed our sponsors this year and those sponsors will not sign up if we have a virtual event. But I understand that you cannot travel to the US at this time.
I encourage anyone who does want to have a virtual conference next year to please volunteer for the conference committee now. Or, we will need a Conference Chair as well. Working on a committee also helps you to get to know other members and potential mentors as well as connecting with the speakers and sponsors. A valuable asset to have in your pocket.
Another option is to have a retreat in your area like the one we have in March in Arkansas. It’s a nice intimate way to meet other writers and learn about your craft. And it doesn’t have to be for writers, you could have a photography retreat or artwork retreat, etc. The opportunities are endless. I hope our non-USA members will consider that so that CWA can be more accessible for you as well. You’ll have our support behind you.
Thanks and please contact me if you’d like to start one of those ideas or even something else.
I’d been going to writers’ conventions for years. Then I went to one Cat Writers’ Association conference, and everything changed.
I had attended science fiction conventions for years. I learned a lot at them, but somehow I was never able to make that leap. At my first CWA conference in 1996, I was a local journalist who had published a few articles in Cat Fancy and Cats magazines.
The presentations alone were worth the trip. I learned how to approach editors. I learned how to become a better writer, how to write more effectively about cats, how to market my work and how to navigate the business side of writing. I came home with information I could actually use.
But something else happened at that conference. I made connections.
Those connections led to assignments from the major cat magazines. Years later, some of the people I met through CWA recommended me to publishers, opening doors to book contracts I never would have imagined when I walked into that first conference.
And that’s when I discovered what makes an in-person CWA conference different. It isn’t just what happens in the meeting rooms. It’s what happens between the presentations, over meals, in the hallways and after the day’s program is over. It’s the conversations, the networking, the mentoring and the friendships you simply can’t duplicate anywhere else.
Tell someone in the outside world you’re a cat writer and sooner or later you’ll hear, “I’m a dog person,” or “I don’t like cats.” At a CWA conference, nobody looks at you funny. Nobody needs an explanation. You’re surrounded by people who love cats and understand why communicating about them matters.
People at those conferences nurtured and mentored me. Over the years, I hope I’ve been able to do the same for others. We share information, contacts, encouragement and opportunities. We help each other become better at what we do.
I’ve attended 20 CWA conferences now. It didn’t take long before I started looking forward to the conference almost as much as I looked forward to Christmas.
The presentations taught me how to build a career. The connections helped make that career possible. And the friendships gave me a community.
That’s what you get when you show up. Unfortunately , you can’t get all of that from Zoom.
I have registered and am looking forward to the conference. I do have two questions I haven’t seen addressed:
1. Will there be a book room/store where authors can sell their books?
2. What part will Dog Writers of America play in the conference?
Thanks
Judith Mathison, Writing as Judith Ayn
Author of MURDER AT THE NO-KILL ANIMAL SHELTER
Hi Judith,
Dog Writers Association of America are partnering with us for the conference and providing some of our speakers.
CWA member who attend the conference will be able to sell their books at our table. I spoke with the Conference Planning Committee and clarified that CWA provides a table and authors are responsible for every other facet of selling books. Each author will have a small area under the table to store books. Books can also be stored in the locked conference room Friday night. CWA members interested in taking part can contact Secretary Jody Wallace at secretary@catwriters.com.
Mewla
I went last year and really enjoyed meeting so many members in person. I also thought the programming was excellent.