The Schedule of Events for Bark! Fest, the Book Festival for Animal Lovers
Celebrate books about dogs and cats with twenty-three authors talking about twenty-two books. Bark! Fest takes place Sep 14 to 25 2026.
By Zazie Todd, PhD
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I'm delighted to share the full schedule of events for Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers that lets you cosy up at home with your dog or cat to hear famous authors talk about their books.
Here's the full schedule of events.
All events are free but registration is required. A recording will be available for those who register, and those who attend live will have the chance to win door prizes.
The events are co-hosted by myself (Zazie Todd) and Kristi Benson.
What is Bark! Fest?
Bark! Fest is the book festival for animal lovers. It first came about in 2024 as a launch event for my book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog. It was an incredible event that got the best feedback from attendees, and you can watch the recordings on Youtube.
The original Bark! Fest was planned as a one-off, but it was so much fun that we decided to do it again.
This time around, we're celebrating another 22 books with 23 authors taking part. We'd love it if you support the authors by getting their books from your local independent bookstore, my Amazon store, or Bookshop.
The schedule of events at Bark! Fest
Our relationship with dogs with Rory Cellan-Jones and Simon Wooler
Explore our love for dogs and the importance of treating them with kindness. Sophie From Romania: What a rescue dog taught me about love, patience and hope by Rory Cellan-Jones tells the real story of how Sophie came into his life, from the long journey he and his wife had to help her with anxiety to the joys of play. In More Than Just a Dog: Understanding, Loving, and Living with Dogs—an essential guide for humans Simon Wooler, expert trainer to Sophie, considers how dogs learn, how they communicate, and what influences the powerful bond they form with people.
Sep 14 at 10am PT (1pm ET/6pm UK).
Writing dogs in fiction with Patricia McConnell and Cat Warren
Join these two much-loved and best-selling authors for an informal conversation about writing fiction with dogs as important (and realistic) characters. Patricia B McConnell PhD is an internationally-renowned applied animal behaviourist whose books include her compassionate and uplifting memoir, The Education of Will, about how dogs and humans heal from trauma. Her first novel, Away to Me, is a suspenseful and immersive mystery set in the dog world which begins as Maddie McGowan’s best friend is killed at a sheepdog trial. Cat Warren is the author of the beautifully-crafted New York Times bestseller What the Dog Knows: Scent, Science, and the Amazing Ways Dogs Perceive the World which explores the extraordinary abilities of scent detection dogs. Also available as a Young Reader’s Edition, it tells the story of how her impossible shepherd dog Solo became a human remains detection dog.
As they work on their second and first novels, respectively, these two incredible authors will discuss the writing (and re-writing) that makes canine characters leap off the page.
Sep 15 at 1pm PT (4pm ET/9pm UK)
The world of dogs with Lili Chin, Melissa McCue-McGrath, and Kerry Nichols
Explore the world of dogs from training to breeds and behaviour with these 3 authors. In Dogs of the World: A Gallery of Pups from Purebred to Mutts by Lili Chin we meet more than 600 dogs and learn about their history and DNA. Misadventures of the World’s Okayest Dog Trainer: 25 Cases to Guide Dog Trainers and Behaviourists in Their Career by Melissa McCue-McGrath is a quirky, comical, and sometimes heartbreaking journey into modern behavioural science. And in the national bestseller Puppy Brain: How Our Dogs Learn, Think, and Love by Kerry Nichols we learn the best ways to raise a puppy so that they become happy and resilient.
Sep 16 at 1pm PT (4pm ET/9pm UK)
Inside of a Dog with Alexandra Horowitz
The beloved #1 New York Times bestseller, Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know is now out in a fully revised and updated second edition. This engaging book is a must-read for all dog guardians with its engaging narrative and personal observations backed by science. Join cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz to learn about the latest findings in canine perception, dogs’ understanding of our emotions and language, and the evolving story of domestication.
Sep 17 at 1pm PT (4pm ET/9pm UK)
Cat behaviour with Sarah Brown, Caroline Clark, Meghan Herron, and Carlo Siracusa
Come and learn all about cat behaviour from these feline experts. In The Hidden Language of Cats: How They Have Us at Meow, Sarah Brown shares the science of the ways cats communicate from meows and tail signals to head rubbing. In A Professional’s Guide to Feline Behaviour: Understanding, Improving and Resolving Problems, Caroline Clark explains how cat behaviour professionals and students can analyze feline behaviour and create realistic behaviour plans. And veterinary behaviourists Dr Meghan Herron and Dr Carlo Siracusa will join us to discuss the ACVB-edited volume Decoding Your Cat: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Cat Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones, a guide to understanding your cat and what to do about their behaviour issues.
Sep 18 at 11am PT (2pm ET/7pm UK)
Mine! with Jean Donaldson
The first edition of Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs is a classic of the dog training literature. Now it’s back in a newly-updated second edition that will help even more dog guardians (and trainers) with resource-guarding dogs. Come and join Jean Donaldson, one of the world’s best dog trainers who is also the author of the seminal book Culture Clash, as she talks about all things dog training from the bigger picture of positive reinforcement to the little details that make such a difference when working with a dog who guards resources like food and toys.
Sep 21 at 11am PT (2pm ET/7pm UK)
Canine crime and mystery with Antony Johnston, Blake Mara, and Louisa Scarr
If you love crime and mystery novels, you will love this event that celebrates books in which dogs help to solve crimes. In Antony Johnston’s witty cosy The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead, Gwinny Tuffel has a small part in Draculania and is filming in the Yorkshire Dales when a fellow cast member is found dead in their locked trailer. In Blake Mara’s twisty whodunnit The Dog Park Detectives Paw and Order, a group of people who walk their dogs in the park step in to investigate after a young homeless man is found dead in the playground. And in Louisa Scarr’s thrilling police procedural Broken House, PC Lucy Halliday and her dog Moss are called in to search for a woman who went missing 10 years ago.
In this suspenseful panel, we catch up with some old friends from the first Bark! Fest and meet a new one too.
Sep 22 at 10am PT (1pm ET/6pm UK)
Inspiring young readers with Marc Bekoff and Alison Pearce Stevens
Join these two authors to learn about how books can inspire young readers to learn more about animals and take action for them. Marc Bekoff's Love In Their Hearts: A Celebration of Animal Emotions and a Guide to Compassionate Action invites young and adult readers to explore the inner world of animals, blending cutting-edge research with calls to action. Detective Dogs: How Working Dogs Sniff Out Invasive Species by Alison Pearce Stevens tells the fascinating story of how dogs are using their noses to help three ongoing conservation projects. Readers young and old will enjoy this informative panel.
Sep 23 at 2pm PT (5pm ET/10pm UK)
The romance panel with Julie Haworth, Nicola Knight, and Farrah Rochon
Join these three celebrated authors for a charming panel that honours the ways in which animals can give Cupid a helping hand. In Julie Haworth’s New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Café, Tori has been dumped and left stranded in Asia by her long-time boyfriend, but back home, can a hunky fireman and a clowder of rescue cats help her find happiness? In Washed Up by Nicola Knight, a drunken stranger is stranded on Frankie’s island during a storm. With the ferries cancelled she can’t escape him, but she soon realizes she doesn’t actually want to. In Farrah Rochon’s Pugs and Kisses, veterinarian Evie appears to have the perfect but boring life, when her college crush returns to town and the animal shelter where they volunteered in student days is under threat.
Sep 24 at 11am PT (2pm ET/7pm UK)
The history of pets with Stephanie Howard-Smith and Philipp Schott
Come and explore the history of our special relationship with pets. Stephanie Howard-Smith’s Yap! A Short History of Small Dogs, is an entertaining history of our small canine companions, told in tender, engaging stories and featuring charming illustrations. Philipp Schott’s Heal the Beasts: A Jaunt Through the Curious History of the Veterinary Arts chronicles the history of veterinary medicine with an abundance of bizarre, funny, surprising, and heartwarming anecdotes.
Sep 25 at 1pm PT (4pm ET/9pm UK)
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