Cathy Salustri writes about Florida lifestyles and history. Her portfolio includes USA Today, Flamingo Magazine, Visit Florida, regional magazines, the Tampa Bay Times, Creative Loafing, and other Tampa Bay press. Until early 2019, she was the arts + entertainment editor of Creative Loafing Tampa. In late 2016, UPF published her travel narrative about retracing the WPA-era driving tours of Florida, Backroads of Paradise, and the New York Times featured it in its travel section. Her next book, Florida Spectacular: Extraordinary Places and Exceptional Lives, focuses on not only what’s right with Florida, but things about the Sunshine State that should make Floridians proud to live here. Cathy calls this Florida-splaining.

Cathy studied radio and television broadcasting as an undergraduate, earning a BA in Communications from the University of Tampa. She also has an MLA in Florida Studies from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. As a graduate student Cathy studied Florida history and culture under Drs. Gary Mormino and Ray Arsenault. Her research focused on the WPA’s Federal

Writer’s Project Guide to the Southernmost State.

In June 2020, Cathy and her husband bought The Gabber Newspaper, a hyperlocal weekly based in South Pinellas County. Her non-writing resume includes giving tours at Walt Disney World, ground crew for an aerial banner towing company, kayak tour guide, sailboat crew, and stage managing for professional theater companies. She works, too, as a private investigator.

She lives in Gulfport with her husband, Barry, their two hound dogs, three cats who may or may not have a sugar addiction and, most likely, a frog the cats brought in as a present that no one has discovered yet. You can reach her at cathy@floridaspectacular.com, at greatfloridaroadtrip.com, or on social media as @cathysalustri.