Keynote Presentation
Awards Banquet, Saturday Night, November 7
Reinventing Yourself in the Pet Industry When You Don’t Have Nine Lives
Arden Moore
Arden Moore has worn many “collars” in her four-decade career: daily newspaper reporter, publishing house senior writer, magazine writer and editor, podcast host, in-demand speaker and pet first aid instructor. In this inspiring keynote address, Arden will share how you can turn failures and setbacks into achievements and successes. She will spotlight her journey that included overcoming bankruptcy and embracing 21st technology while staying true to her mission: “Bringing out the best in pets and their people.” Joining her on stage will be the confident, full of catitude Pet Safety Cat Casey, ready to motivate attendees from the feline perspective.
Presentations/Workshops
November 6 and 7, 2026
Workshops and presenters are subject to change. Presentations are listed in alphabetical order by title.
Are You Ready to Self-Publish? The Mechanics of Self-Publishing
Jake Royer and Amber Royer
Join Jake and Amber Royer for a discussion of what goes into self-publishing. Amber is a hybrid-published author, and Jake is co-author on their cookbook. For the nonfiction they self-publish, Amber writes the content and designs covers, while Jake focuses on formatting, optimization, keywords and ad creation. They both market in different ways. Are you ready to wear the many hats required to self-publish? Get tips on how to streamline the process.
Art Marketing
Theresa Patterson, Mel White, Cat Conrad, Brad W. Foster
Artists and illustrators will learn practical strategies for building an audience, pricing their work, licensing opportunities, and navigating both traditional and digital platforms. Discover how to turn your art into sustainable income while protecting your creative vision.
Beyond Superheroes: Graphic Novels for Pet Lovers and Niche Interests
Steve Wiley and Friends
Graphic novels represent a thriving market for every passion and niche, offering a real opportunity for creators. With roughly 35 million copies sold annually, graphic novels are now the third best-selling literary genre, trailing only general fiction and romance. This workshop will provide an overview of the steps needed to complete a professional-level graphic novel, as well as the strategic marketing needed to reach your audience in this booming format.
Book Covers
Cat Conrad, Brad W. Foster, Theresa Patterson
In person book buyers decide to buy or move on after looking at a cover for only 8 seconds. Online buyers looking at thumbnails take even less time—which means your cover needs to intrigue potential readers in a tiny image before they even click to see the full size. Explore the design principles that make book covers work—from typography and color theory to understanding your genre’s visual conventions. Learn how professional cover design communicates your book’s content and genre to potential readers whether they’re browsing a bookstore shelf or scrolling through search results.
Dare to be Bad: Strategies for Finally Finishing Your Work
Dusty Rainbolt, Teresa Patterson, Mel White, Amber Royer, Beverly Garland
Starting a project is easy. Finishing it is not. Every writer and artist wants a perfect first draft, and that fear of a clumsy first attempt is exactly why so many projects die quietly on hard drives. But once something rough is down on paper, editing offers the hope of a future masterpiece. This panel gives you permission to write and draw a messy draft. Walk away with the encouragement and proven strategies to finally reach those two magic words: The End.
Finding and Working with Editors and Proofreaders
Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
Even experienced, skilled writers need editors and proofreaders for their work to be its best, especially independent authors and those working with clients that don’t provide those services. However, it can be challenging to find those services from people with genuine skills and experience, and to work together effectively once found. Learn how to find and assess editors and proofreaders, and develop productive, respectful working relationships to bring your writing work to peak quality.
Fur Real Advances: The Latest on How EveryCat is Changing Feline Medicine
Steve Dale
The EveryCat Heath Foundation has been funding cat health studies for nearly 60 years and the impact of this non-profit is undeniable. Animal Behavior Consultant Steve Dale, longtime member of the Board of Directors offers some of the greatest hits, including how the Ricky Fund to how treating feline infectious peritonitis has contributed to saving countless human lives, and that today you can pursue compounded meds for FIP directly through veterinarians. Steve will also present the Steve Dale EveryCat Health Foundation Communications Award, awarded annually to a person or group that supports communication about cat health, behavior in traditional media, social media, podcasting, and/or public speaking.
Getting Down to Business: The Serious Side of What We Do
Lynn Maria Thompson
We love learning how to be better writers, and that’s a good thing: we should never stop honing our writing skills. But as we move forward with our careers, we become aware of another side to what we do: the business side. Based on her own 24 years of experience as a solopreneur and her extensive network of contacts, Lynn is exploring it all in her An Author’s Guide to… series of ebooks. This workshop pulls from those to focus briefly on several business aspects of being a writer and put them into terms you can understand and appreciate. You’ll leave with useful tips about how to fine-tune your writing business and prepare for when those big royalties start pouring in!
How to Tell a Feral From a Stray
Debbie Holzer
Debbie Holzer will explain the meaning of the term “community cat,” which describes any cat who lives outdoors; This includes feral cats who are completely unsocialized with humans, stray cats who are those who have been lost or abandoned and friendly with humans, and every temperament in between. She will describe the behavioral differences between truly feral, “semi-feral,” and fully domesticated cats, and how to identify each from observation alone. Debbie will then discuss how we can best help the variations of community cats, emphasizing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) for feral cats and others who are acclimated to outdoor life and can thrive outdoors with sterilization, vaccination, and daily feeding.
Introduction to Cat First Aid
Arden Moore, Casey the Cat
Time for you to step up and be your cat’s BFF – that’s best feline friend. In a cat medical emergency, minutes matter. So does your emotional state as you approach an injured cat. Here to help you manage kitty uh-ohs will be Arden Moore, founder of Pet First Aid 4U, and Pet Safety Cat Casey. Together they will deliver an interactive, practical presentation on cat first aid. Discover what to do if your cat is choking or bleeding. Learn the quickest way to wrangle an injured cat to avoid being scratched. Find out a surprisingly effective way to give pills and liquids – and much more!
Lights, Camera, Adoption! Photography Secrets for Hard-to-Place Pets
Teresa Patterson, Dusty Rainbolt
A great photo can mean the difference between a pet who gets adopted this weekend or never makes it out at all. The stakes are highest for the hardest-to-place animals: black pets, seniors and those with disabilities or special needs. In this hands-on workshop, Dusty Rainbolt shares the practical techniques used by award-winning rescue photographer Weems Hutto that transform that shapeless void cats and dogs into a pet adopters can’t scroll past. And bonus: the same techniques that make black pets shine online will also help them stand out at in-person adoption events, where dim lighting and cage bars create their own challenges.
Poetry Party, a Generative Workshop
Mary Kane
Studying poetry is a great way to strengthen your writing skills, whether you are a poet or just want to improve your prose. Poetic tools like metaphor, rhyme and rhythm can add depth and charm to your writing, while making it more interesting. Studying other forms is also a great way to infuse creativity into your writing life. We will read and study a few cat poems written by masters — like William Carlos Williams, Margaret Atwood, T.S. Eliot and Sylvia Plath — and then write our own using guided exercises. No poetry experience is necessary, just a love of cats and desire to play with language. You will leave this fun workshop with a newly crafted poem.
Secrets to Successful Feline Fiction
Mollie Hunt, Amy Shojai, Patricia Fry, Jody Wallace, Robert Smith
Where do ideas come from? How does one portray a convincing cat character? And what the cat is a cozy mystery? Join Amy Shojai, Patricia Fry, Robert Smith, Jody Wallace, and Mollie Hunt, fiction writers who have published work in multiple genres including mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and those enigmatic cat cozies. Besides telling their secrets about writing cat fiction, they will take questions from the audience, offer solutions for issues affecting writers of all levels, and show how they make the most of cat writing.
Social Media: Today and the Future
Jessica Spawn
Description coming!
Swipe Right on Fluffy: Writing Adoption Profiles That Get Pets Adopted – Panel
Mel White, Dusty Rainbolt, Teresa Patterson, Mary Kane
Every animal in a shelter or foster home deserves a great first impression, and for many potential adopters that impression is a form with vital statistics on a website or social media post. The difference between a pet who goes home this weekend and one who lingers for months or years often comes down a captivating online profile. Drawing on 4 decades in both journalism and frontline cat rescue, Dusty Rainbolt, is joined by other writers with similar backgrounds to show you how to transform bland descriptions into compelling profiles that get attention, build emotional connections and help animals find homes faster.
Substack and Beyond: How Writers and Artists Are Cutting Out the Middleman
Dan Koller
Description coming!
Writing Like Cats & Dogs: The Differences Between Cats & Dogs and How to Include Believable Animal Characters in Fiction
Amy Shojai
Are you a cat rescuer introducing the new kitty to a resident dog? Do you write creative “adoption copy” to land kitty or puppy a forever home? or a fiction author incorporating believable furry characters (or even fantasy creatures) in your work? Understanding the differences between cat and dog behavior provides invaluable insight for pet lovers, whether they’re adopting a new friend or escaping into adventures with furry muses. In this fun PowerPoint presentation, learn how cats vs dogs “talk,” what to expect in adoption or introduction situations, and even translate that knowledge into prescriptive nonfiction or creative fiction that thrills readers and leaves all cat and dog lovers wanting more!
Writing Press Releases for Authors, Artists and Rescuers
Dan Koller
Description coming!
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