At ten, Mary milked cows to earn money for her first horse.

Mary Nethery writes fiction and true animal stories about friendship, resilience, and kindness.

Born, raised, and educated in California, Mary earned a BA at California State University Humboldt, a California State Teaching Credential, and an MA in curriculum design and parent involvement. She taught primary grades and has worked on writing with students from kindergarten through college.

Mary co-directed and designed The Cultural Exchange, one of fourteen California Innovative Curriculums, and trained teachers in it across the state. As a staff development coordinator, she supported fourteen districts in Humboldt County. She directed an annual conference for a thousand administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, and specialists, and published a bi-monthly magazine for teachers and administrators.

She also represented six California counties to the State Department of Education. She has presented to thousands of students and at major national and state conferences.

Her first published book was Hannah and Jack. Her books with Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson include Two Bobbies and Nubs. Co-written with Major Brian Dennis, Nubs spent fourteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Their next book, 23 Dogs and 1 Cat, comes from Bloomsbury Children’s Books in February 2027.

Mary has lived in Washington, Berlin, Santa Fe, and Lakeland. She now lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her rescue cats, Ruby Chanel and Remy Moss. Her son lives nearby. Her love of East Africa has taken her to Kenya and Tanzania.

She studied English ballet in Eureka, Russian ballet in southern California, and modern dance in Santa Fe. She continues Pilates over Zoom, plays piano and a little guitar, sings, and draws with charcoal. The cat drawings on this site are hers.

She loves desserts, especially frosting, and the bakeries of Richmond and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. She enjoys exploring Richmond with her son and talking with friends over a double shot of espresso.