Meet Cathy Borders: “Book Midwife, Story Therapist, and Writing Witch” as she describes herself.

As a creative local powerhouse, she juggles a wide variety of roles, from author and editor to teacher, mother, wife, founder of Republic of Letters and the Read Local movement, and Facilitator of Water Street Writers in Batavia. 

What makes Borders so compelling isn’t just her long list of titles — it’s the way she’s built a creative life rooted in community. Whether she’s helping a nervous first-time writer untangle a messy draft or lifting up local authors through new platforms and events, her work keeps circling back to the same mission: making sure stories find a home.

Borders acknowledges that her life is a delicate balance.

“The teenage writer in me may miss following my whims, but without my meticulous to-do list, I would drop so many balls,” Borders said. “Honestly, I love this work. It’s a win win. I get to write, work with other writers, and be a part of a great writing community, all while staying home with my kids.”

In 2017, Borders and her husband Ryan Block opened Republic of Letters on the Geneva riverfront. They imagined it as both a used bookshop and an event space for writing classes and book launches. Instead, they discovered it was too large for one purpose and too small for the other. 

When the pandemic hit, they pivoted to an online model, which led to the creation of the Local Author Directory — a searchable hub of local authors and their books.

While her dream of a “Local Author Only Bookstore” is still on hold, Borders’ commitment to supporting writers hasn’t slowed. She organizes networking events, teaches online writing classes that reach more people than in-person sessions ever could, and runs Water Street Writers, a literary reading series hosted by Water Street Studios. 

She also guides numerous editing clients as they bring their manuscripts from rough draft to finished book.

Borders is the author of three published works and a fan of experimental forms. Her first novel, “Suburb of Monogamy,” began in grad school and plays off Roland Barthes’ “A Lover’s Discourse,” becoming what she describes as “an upside-down romance that doesn’t at all adhere to the genre’s rules.” 

Her second book, “The Tarot for Writing Project,” was created with her editing clients in mind. Drawing from her love of tarot, she explains each card’s symbolism and connects it to familiar narrative patterns, building an online, hyperlinked resource full of writing exercises and references.

Her latest book, “Robin Williams Is My Uncle: And Other Stories We Possess,” grew out of her interest in inherited trauma. She struggled to shape an essay on the topic until Robin Williams’ death unlocked a new approach. The project eventually evolved from memoir into “autotheory” — a blend of personal story and critical theory. 

“It’s a really lovely genre most people don’t know about, but I highly recommend looking it up,” she said.

Finding time to write remains one of her biggest challenges. 

“I wish I had a solid ritual, but at this phase of my life, it’s pretty much me on the floor with papers strewn about, stretching and clacking, interrupted every 5–20 minutes by a child,” she said.

As an editor, she’s fully in her element. She loves “the immense intellectual satisfaction of figuring out the puzzle of someone’s story, of untangling all its knots,” and especially the moment when a client sees their finished book. 

Her process varies widely depending on the writer, and she often helps clients work through emotional reactions to feedback. She edited “Robin” 37 times before publication — and still sent edits to her book designer, Kevin Moriarity, right up to the final day.

Her advice for aspiring authors is simple: “Be yourself. Art is the product of the person. No one can write your book as you would. Your art is supposed to look like you — it’s why many people don’t like their own art, they see too much of themselves in it. If you chase trends, you’re thinking of your art as this thing you do for money. If that’s what you want, cool, but if you want to make art, be yourself.”

Borders certainly practices what she preaches.

This piece was written by Ellen Jo Ljung, a longtime Geneva resident, author, award-winning educator, and arts enthusiast. Visit her website to learn more.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with questions or comments.

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