Pat Schneider (1934-2020) was an American writer and poet. She was born in Missouri and placed in an orphanage by her single mother for around twelve months. Encouraged by her mother and local church community, Pat earned a Masters from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California and was a graduate of the MFA Program for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was the founder and director of Amherst Writers & Artists and editor of Amherst Writers & Arts Press. An annual poetry contest was established in her honour by Amherst Writers & Artists in 2011.