conference

Feature Friday Film: The Cat Writers’ Association Contest and Conference

~ Debbie ~ 3 Comments

Debbie is a professional member of the Cat Writers’ Association. Every year, CWA holds an annual contest and conference. This year, because of the pandemic, the Awards Ceremony of this conference will be virtual. This event consists of the awarding of prizes by sponsors and Muse Medallions, the most prestigious award given by the CWA. To be in the running for this award, you must win at least one Certificate of Excellence in a contest category. This year, Debbie has won 3 certificates in the article, blog, and short story categories. I was thrilled that her blog award was for this blog and my story, Sneaky’s Christmas Mystery. You can find a list of other winners and the award categories at https://bit.ly/CWA2019CertificatesofExcellence.

Muse Medallion (photo: courtesy of the Catwriters’ Association)

Here are some videos from last year’s conference that took place in St. Louis, Missouri. They are from the Cat Writers’ Association Facebook page.

Here is President, Deb Barnes, opening up the Awards Banquet.

Here is a video of the presentation of the special awards at the banquet.

Here is the presentation of the Muse Medallions.

If you’re a writer, artist, poet, or any creative who features cats in their work, you should consider joining this pawsome group. Maybe you can win a prize  and meet some talented and cat-loving people at the annual conference when they meet in person next year. For more information, check out the website: http://catwriters.com/

Harry’s Kitty Korner #10: A Feline Review of the Cat Writers’ Association Conference

~ Debbie ~ Leave a comment

Hi, there. It’s Harry with my Kitty Korner Column #10. Thank you for reading about my adventures with Debbie and her family. My topic for this post is the Cat Writers’ Association Conference that Debbie Attended. I wasn’t too happy about her leaving me, my sis, and Stripey, but she made up for it with lots of toys and treats that she brought home. One in purr-ticular was the Cattraction kicker toy with Silver Vine and Catnip that was donated by Hartz. I have no idea what Silver Vine is, but it must be as potent as catnip because Hermione and I couldn’t resist it.

So as not to repeat what Debbie and other cat writers have written about the conference, I’m sharing all the cat photos because they are litter-ally the best. If you want to read the human stuff, check out Debbie’s post on her author’s blog: https://wp.me/p6m4z7-21p

You might also want to read Sneaky’s preview of the conference on this blog: https://wp.me/p7XcB0-Ev

So, here are the cats that attended the conference. We were left behind which may have been for the best because I don’t like flying except when I’m running after my cat teaser.

Pet-Safety Cat Casey

Cat #1: Casey who is also known as a pet safety cat because he and his human, Arden Moore, teach pet first-aid which is a valuable thing for pet owners to learn. Casey was on paw for most of the events and even helped Arden host the Awards Banquet at the end of the conference, and I heard he did a Meowvalous job.

Summer the Pet Therapy Cat.

Cat #2: Pet Therapy Cat Summer. This pretty kitty of the Somali breed attended the swag stuffing party where those great Silver Vine and catnip kickers were included in the bags, and she was also at the author book signing and, as you can see from the photo below, she wore her best dress to the awards ceremony. Her human Janiss Garza won several special awards at that event. I’m sure Summer is quite proud of her.

Chanel the Blogger’s Cat

Cat #3: Chanel (aka Crash), Jeanne Kudich’s cat, was also around. Jeanne writes the Random Felines blog. Check it out here.

Of claws, there were lots of other cats at the conference, not all of them living. For instance, there were a pair of Cuddle Clone cats, a bunch of cat flower arrangements, and a 25th anniversary cat cake, not to mention all the cat ears and cat clothes the writers wore.

I guess I should also show you a photo of Debbie wearing her cat ears, purse, dress, necklace, and shoes for the Awards Banquet. I think she was the cat’s meow and am so glad she’s home.

Until next time. Handsome Harry aka Harold when I’m naughty.

Sneaky’s Feature Friday Film: Meowing About The Cat Writer’s Association Conference

~ Debbie ~ 2 Comments

This week, instead of my usual Feature Friday film of cute kitties, I’m showing a video of the Cat Writers’ Association. Have you heard of this group? If you feature cats in your books, articles, poems, blogs, photographs, etc., this is the group for you. CWA will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in St. Louis, Missouri this month.  My author is attending this conference and will be speaking on a panel with other cat authors including Mollie Hunt, Patricia Fry, and Sandra Murphy.

Top (left to right): Mollie Hunt and Patricia Fry. Bottom (left to right): Sandra Murphy and Debbie De Louise Photo courtesy of the Cat Writers’ Association

In addition to being on the panel of “Communicating, Capitalizing, and Connecting in a Fictional World,” Debbie will be selling and autographing some of our books at a book signing at the Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch on Saturday, May 17. This event will also feature a fundraiser by the Humane Society of Missouri and is open to everyone.

Here is a video compilation of past CWA conferences from founding member and past president, Amy Shojai. Isn’t it pawsome? Note that a younger Debbie appears in the 1999 conference slide taken in Kansas City.