CWA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The international Cat Writers' Association Inc. will hold its 15th Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA. The fun will begin on November 20 and end on November 23rd. The conference is open to anyone interested in pet writing and will feature two days of professional seminars with nationally known speakers. The annual Purina CWA Awards Banquet features 20 special awards for writing and graphic arts totaling $13,000.

The conference is our once-a-year time to get together to learn, network, be recognized, be inspired and celebrate with our peers, editors and agents and our sponsors.

NOTE: Additional information will be added, as available.

• Conference Hotel
• Transportation
• CFA International Cat Show
• Editor/Agent Appointments
• CWA Seminars & Conference Schedule
• Speaker Bios
• Be Part of the Thursday Night Team (TNT)
• Book Signing Extravaganza
• Awards Display
• Conference Registration

CONFERENCE HOTEL

Renaissance Concourse Hotel
One Hartsfield Centre Parkway
Atlanta, Georgia 30354 USA
Phone: 1-404-209-9999
Fax: 1-404-305-2343

Reservations: Room rate is $94.00/night plus taxes. Call 1-888-391-8724 and ask for “The Cat Fanciers’ Association International Cat Show.” Online Reservations here. Group code is icsicsa. Deadline for reservations: October 27, 2008. One night’s deposit is required to guarantee reservations. Neither rate nor availability can be guaranteed after deadline date.

There is no charge to park at the hotel.

Hotel to CFA International Cat Show Transportation: Shuttle buses will be provided to and from the show hall.

TRANSPORTATION

Situated only 1 mile from the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport (ATL), the Renaissance Concourse Hotel offers complimentary airport transportation and is easily accessible from all of Atlanta's major expressways.

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THE CFA INTERNATIONAL CAT SHOW

The Georgia International Convention Center is adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, at the juncture of Interstate Highways 75 and 85. The "Westminster" of cat shows, the annual CFA International Cat Show features the best of championship cats from around the world. In addition to the competition, the show hall offers countless vender booths of cat theme products, demonstrations, and other events.

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EDITOR/AGENT APPOINTMENTS

One-on-one 15-minute meetings with editors, publishers and agents will once again be scheduled for Friday and Saturday of the CWA Conference. Appointments must be made in advance and are available for CWA members whose 2008 dues are paid.

Contact Heike Hagenguth, our long-time Editor/Agent Appointments Coordinator, if you are interested in meeting with up to three editors/agents. The list of participating editors, publishers and agents will continually be updated as our invitations are accepted. Appointments will be scheduled on a first-come first-served basis, and all requests must be made by October 31, 2007.

Friday, November 21, Noon - 5 p.m.
Dublin Room, on the Atrium Level (2 floors up from conference room level, turn right when you exit elevator)

Saturday, November 22, 9 a.m. - Noon
Dublin Room, on the Atrium Level (2 floors up from conference room level, turn right when you exit elevator)

You are responsible for keeping your appointed time(s), or for finding someone to exchange with if you have a scheduling problem.

Editors/agents attending:

• Mara Bovsun, AKC GAZETTE and AKC FAMILY DOG
• Susan L. Graham, About Words Agency
• Susan Logan, Cat Fancy
• Arden Moore, Catnip
• Jacqueline Nivison, Performance Sighthound Journal and Field Advisory News
• Ellen Price, The WORLD of Professional Pet Sitting
• Kim Jack Riley, www.petside.com
• Kimberly Turner, Atlanta Magazine

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BOOK SIGNING EXTRAVAGANZA

2008 Atlanta CWA Convention Book Signing - Attending Authors Sign Up Now!

GOING TO ATLANTA? Make sure your books are there, too! Yes, the 2008 CWA Book Signing Extravaganza, held at our booth at the CFA International Cat Show at the Georgia International Convention Center, is ON ITS WAY. The book-selling booth will be open all three days of the CWA Annual Conference, and authors can sign any time. However, as in previous years, we're going to publicize a big AUTHOR SIGNING PARTY on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 22, from 1 to 5 p.m. We will also be publicizing Friday and Sunday signings, and encourage "drop bys" too. Everyone who signs up with me WILL get a time to sign on Saturday afternoon (sorry I cannot take time requests). If you would ALSO like to sign on Friday or Sunday please let me know (and indicate roughly what time you would like to sign on either of these days).

Please be advised -- These signing opportunities are ONLY for attending CWA and DWAA-member authors. You have to sign up for the conference to have your books at our booth and to be part of our book signing.

You probably know the drill by now. If you have registered for the conference and would like to sell your books at the book booth, please send me your book info IN THIS FORMAT:

Title, Author, Publisher, ISBN

Please follow this format exactly. I may not know your authorial name, or the name of your co-authors. I may make mistakes while retyping or cutting out cute little quote marks or dashes. So please no, "Hi Clea, please list my book 'BOOK' its out on PUBLISHER and the ISBN is XX." You wouldn't believe the time it takes to edit these down and it really gets to me. So please, please, simply email me at cleas@earthlink.net with the following:

Hi Clea,
My book info is:
Cat book 1, Susie Stray and Frank Feral, Cattails, ISBN 98877444
Cat book 2, Susie Stray, Catapult Press, ISBN 080843509890
Thanks!
Susie

ONCE you are on my list, you are registered for the Saturday Afternoon Signing Extravaganza. Now we have to get your books there. (Note, I will need this info by about Labor Day, but I'll bug you with an exact deadline later.)

Your books can get to the book booth in either of two ways: Our bookstore partner (Tammy Lynn of the Book Basket) can order them or you can bring them.

Tammy can order them IF:

You are published by a conventional (traditional) publisher, distributed through either Ingram or Baker & Taylor, and are fully returnable. That's it. Our bookstore will NOT order from your publisher directly, nor will they order books that can only be exchanged for credit. Final discretion is with them. If you are self-published, you have to bring your own books. If you are on a small press that is not distributed by either Ingram or Baker & Taylor, you have to bring your own books.

HOWEVER, do not give up hope!! If your book CANNOT be ordered by our bookstore partner, you may bring them. You can have them shipped to yourself at the hotel, but you cannot have them shipped to the bookstore. At the conference, you can bring them over to the book booth as soon as it opens (Friday morning). They do not HAVE to be there until your signing, though of course the longer they are on display the greater chance they have of being sold. When you bring your books, please also bring (and leave with the staff) a written (ideally typed) inventory of how many books you are leaving, their price, who you are, and how to contact you.

If you are bringing books, the book booth staff will sell your books for you at the cover price. You will be reimbursed for each book sold at the wholesale price (usually 60 percent). The profits are divided between our bookstore partner and the CWA. You are responsible for any unsold books.

If you are bringing books, we suggest 5 to 10 copies. Of course, this is up to you. There is info elsewhere about shipping directly to our hotel. I do not have it.

QUICK AUTHOR'S CHECK LIST:

Make sure you are registered for the 2008 Atlanta conference.

Once you are, send me your info as Title, Author, Publisher ISBN in the proper format, and you'll be on my list for the Saturday afternoon signing extravaganza. With that info, our bookstore partner may be able to order your book.

If you are self-published, you have to bring your own books.

If you are on a small press that is not distributed by either Ingram or Baker & Taylor, you have to bring your own books.

No, the bookstore will not order directly from a publisher.

No, you cannot sell books at the booth if you are not attending the conference.

No, you cannot ship or have books shipped to the bookstore. If you are bringing books, you must get them to the booth yourself. No exceptions.

If you are bringing books, the book booth staff will sell them at the cover price. You will be reimbursed for each book sold at the wholesale price. The profits are divided between our bookstore partner and the CWA. You will be responsible for picking up any unsold books.

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Be Part of the Thursday Night Team (TNT)

Thursday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m., - DeGualle Room Our Thursday Night Team party includes a light meal. Remember to volunteer by contacting Nancy Peterson or Sandy Robins.

Want to participate in some stimulating activities after your flight or drive to Foster City or would you rather be assured a good night's sleep? Please join us for a mindless, relaxing get together on Thursday evening (following the Dog Writers Association of America meeting) to stuff conference folders, assemble name badges (harder than you think) and fill doorprize bags.

In the past, we have invited volunteers to participate in these fun events. This year, I would like to recruit a number of volunteers beforehand to insure that there are sufficient bodies to handle these necessary tasks as quickly as possible. New members will especially enjoy this low-key opportunity to get to know others. These events will take place simultaneously in a meeting room (we've outgrown using guest rooms for the doorprize-stuffing party) and REFRESHMENTS will be sponsored by Hartz Mountain Corporation.

Please contact Nancy Peterson, CWA President, or or Sandy Robins to be part of the TNT (Thursday Night Team).

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CWA/DWAA WRITING SEMINARS & CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

DOOR PRIZE BAG STUFFING PARTY
Thursday, 7:00pm In DeGualle
Light refreshments served

FRIDAY SEMINARS
8:00-8:30 a.m. - Registration, Continental breakfast - Pre-East B
8:30 a.m. - Announcements, Sponsor introductions, Comfort Zone® w/Feliway® Membership Bounty Prize - Concourse B
9:00-9:50 a.m. - Developing Feline Vaccines & Meds - DR. ROBERT MENARDI - Concourse B
10:00-10:50 a.m. - Finding Inspiration for Fiction - MICHAEL COWL GORDON, M.D. - Narita
10:00-10:50 a.m. - Writing Competitions 101 - How to Write Award-Winning Material and Judge Your Peers - DUSTY RAINBOLT - Concourse B
11:00-11:50 a.m. - Writers Giving Back: The Darcy Fund - KIM THORNTON - Narita
11:00-11:50 a.m. - Writing Humor - ELLEN TUCKER - Concourse B

11:50-1:00 - LUNCH ON YOUR OWN

1:00-1:50 p.m. - Discerning Truth in Journalism: How To Distinguish Facts from Speculation - SUSAN LOGAN - Concourse B
1:00-1:50 p.m. - Public Speaking, Promotion, and Pulling Your Hair Out - DENA HARRIS - Narita
2:00-2:50 p.m. - Opening Sentences - SHARA SMOCK - Concourse B
2:00-2:50 p.m. - Feline-Friendly Handling, - JANE BRUNT, DVM - Narita
3:00-3:50 p.m. - Moving from Nonfiction to Fiction (and Back Again) CLEA SIMON - Concourse B
3:00-3:50 p.m. - How To Quit Your Day Job and Freelance Full Time - EVE ADAMSON - Narita
4:00-4:50 p.m. - Marketing Plans for Fun & Profit - VIC DiGENTI - Concourse B
4:50 p.m. - Closing Announcements, Premier Pet Products Scholarship Drawing - Concourse B

NETWORKING RECEPTION
Friday, November 21, 6:00-7:00 p.m., Pre-East B
Sponsored by The Iams Company
Informal dinner to follow - DeGualle Room
Dinner Speaker, Melinda Merck, DVM, Veterinary Forensics Expert
Co-sponsored by Cat Fancy/BowTie, Inc.
Comfort Zone® w/ Feliway® from Central Life Sciences
Morris Animal Foundation

SATURDAY SEMINARS
8:00-8:30 a.m. - Registration, Continental breakfast - Pre-East B
8:30 a.m. - Announcements, Sponsor introductions & Seminars - all in Concourse D
9:00-9:50 a.m. - CATalyst Panel - JANE BRUNT, DVM, LEA-ANN GERMINDER, DAN KRAMER, JOAN MILLER, AMY SHOJAI. SHARON MELNYK, Moderator
10:00-10:50 a.m. - Veterinary Panel - JANE BRUNT, DEB ELDREDGE, ROBERT MENARDI, JILL RICHARDSON. MARION LANE, Moderator.
11:00-11:50 a.m. - Behavior Panel – CATHY BRUCE, CAROLINE COILE, CHRIS REDENBACH, JOHN WRIGHT. AMY SHOJAI, Moderator.
12:00-12:50 p.m. - Editors' & Agents' Panel - MARA BOVSUN, SUSAN L. GRAHAM, SUSAN LOGAN, ARDEN MOORE, JACQUELINE NIVISON, ELLEN PRICE, KIM JACK RILEY, KIMBERLY TURNER. KIM THORNTON, Moderator.

THE CAT'S MEOW LUNCHEON
Saturday, Nov. 22, 1:00-2:30 p.m., DaVinci Room
Sponsored by ASPCA & one-of-a-kind raffle

HOSPITALITY RECEPTION
Saturday, Nov. 22, 6:00-7:00 p.m., Pre-East B
(dressy attire requested)
Sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health
Immediately followed by:

AWARDS BANQUET, 7:00 p.m., DaVinci
Sponsored by Purina
Featuring:
CWA MUSE MEDALLIONS™ and SPECIAL AWARDS
AKC Companion Animal Recovery Award
Dr. Jim Richards/Cornell Feline Health Center Veterinary Issues Award
Fort Dodge/Healthy Cats for Life Turning Point Award
Friskies® Writer of the Year Award
Hartz Every Day Chewable Vitamin Award
Hartz Glamour-Puss Award
Hartz Milk Replacement for Kittens Award
Iams® Responsible Cat Ownership Award
Merial Human-Animal Bond Award
Pro Plan® Pedigreed Cats Award
Purina® Cat Chow® Nutrition Award
Purina® One® Health Award
Purina® Kitten Chow® Kitten Award
SF/SPCA Advo-Cat Award
Sticky Paws® Training Award
Tidy Cats® Feline Behavior Award
World's Best® Cat Litter-ary Award
Shojai Mentor Award
Kuykendall Image Award (sponsored by CWA)
CWA President's Award (sponsored by CFA)

MEMBERSHIP BREAKFAST
Sunday, November 23, 8 a.m. buffet breakfast, DeGualle Room
Sponsored by Hartz Mountain Corporation
Followed by CWA Members' Meeting and one-of-a-kind raffle
Plus, Award-Winners Display 7:30-10:00 a.m.

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CONTEST AWARDS WINNERS' DISPLAY

Come see, read and enjoy the winning entries from this year's Communication Contest! The Winners' Display Table will be available at 7:30 a.m. at the Breakfast Meeting on Sunday, November 22nd. That's 1/2 hour before the start of the meeting to give you time to peruse the winners so plan to come a bit early. The display will be up from 7:30am until 10:00am.

Please note: if you wish to keep your display item (a photo, a book, a video, etc.) please be sure to remove it from the display table following the meeting; however, it would be helpful if you could leave the item for at least 15 minutes following the close of the meeting to give folks a chance to see it. Leftover items will be donated to a local humane group.

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REGISTRATION INFORMATION

2008 CWA CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

• Print out the PDF Registration form and mail it, along with your check.
• Checks in the proper amount (U.S. dollars) must accompany the registration form. Print out this form and mail. You may not register by e-mail.
• Please attach a separate sheet of paper for all guests. Include their names and events they're attending so they can have badges.
• All meals must be pre-registered.
• No payments will be accepted at the door except for individual seminars, which can also be pre-registered.
• Only pay for a la carte items if you are not paying for full registration.
• You will not receive confirmation of your registration unless you send with your check a self-addressed stamped postcard or a viable e-mail address.
• Registration packets and badges will be reserved for you at the on-site registration table. Keep your badges with you at all times as they are your proof of payment.
• All checks are nonrefundable. No exceptions.

Make checks payable to Cat Writers' Association Inc.

Send registration form & payment to:
Sharon Melnyk
1579 Arch Street
Berkeley, CA 94708

FOR QUESTIONS, please email cwaconfregistrarsam@gmail.com

Print the PDF Registration form and MAIL as indicated. Registration forms are not accepted via email.

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