The Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop has been dubbed the "Woodstock of Humor" and a "utopia" for writers — one "that only appears every other year, out of the mist, on the edge of the Great Miami River in Dayton, Ohio (like Brigadoon)."

The workshop's mission is simple: to encourage and inspire writers in the same way that celebrated columnist and author Erma Bombeck '49 found encouragement and inspiration at the University of Dayton.

Its mantra is timeless: "You can write!"

This collection is an archive of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop blog, which delivers news about the workshop, information for writers, profiles of Humor Writer of the Month honorees, and writing by participants and faculty of the workshop.

View the latest entries on the blog website.

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Submissions from 2024

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Fowl Play, Jerry Zezima

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Who's Publishing What: Christopher Bennett and the Mystic Beetle, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Who's Publishing What: Do I Know You?, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Who's Publishing What: I Will Not Be Ignored, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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A Thank-You Letter to Erma Bombeck, Susan C. Willett

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No Fly Zone, Jerry Zezima

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Living to Be 100, Dean Norman

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We Met at a Bar ... an American Love Story, Diane Dean-Epps

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Humor Writer of the Month: Nancy Crochiere, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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A (Hotel) Room of My Own, Annmarie Kelly

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Emotional Eclipses and Pilgrimages, Pam Sherman

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The Woodstock of Writers' Workshops, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Oompa Loompa Hair at the Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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You're So Vein, Jerry Zezima

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Return to Zumba: or My Daughter's Wedding is Making Me Shake, Nancy Crochiere

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The Erma Experience, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Au Revoir, Dayton, Kara Kinney Cartwright

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There Will No Longer Be Chocolate Cake At Every Meal, Kris Downey

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Erma Bombeck Made Me Do It, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Another Fine Mess, Jerry Zezima

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No Tremors or Totality, but Still, Lots of Wonder, Cara McDonough

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Insights, Laughter and Lessons Learned, Amber Shaw

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Lord of the Flies, As Replayed in My Dining Room, Renee Burns Lonner

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Short, Tight and Impressionable, Renee Johnson

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Really, Erma Made Me Do It, Robin Raniero Norris

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Rub-a-Dub-Dub, No Men in the Tub, Jerry Zezima

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Happy Campers, January Ornellas

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Laughing Matters, John Branning

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Erma One-Word Review, Jamy May Wagner

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Keep Writing, Laughing and Believing, Wade Rouse

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Outpatient Decluttering, Jase Graves

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Thanks for the Muscle Memory, Jerry Zezima

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What If No Moon?, Dean Norman

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For Erma: when the real writers come back home, Barbara Fant

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Humor Writer of the Month: Elissa Bassist, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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House Calls, Jerry Zezima

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Giving Birth to a Book Isn't for Wimps, Marcy O'Brien

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Mr. Eli, Teri Rizvi

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The Prince of Paint, Jerry Zezima

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The Diamond's in the Details, Jerry Zezima

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Come On Down!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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I Didn't Want to Eat the Easter Bunny, Dean Norman

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And the Oscar Goes To..., Donna Fentanes

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I Got COVID when COVID Wasn't Cool., Jase Graves

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Every Pun Intended, Jerry Zezima

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Peevie Steevie, Steve Eskew

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The Last OG Gen X Mom Pleads Her Case, Jessica Miller

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Naked and Frantic, Karen Iseminger

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Downward Facing What?, Matt Landig

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What's In a Name?, Nancy Mink

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The Curse of the Zezbino, Jerry Zezima

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Like Mother, Unlike Daughter, Joan Harris

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Can We Put the Fun in Funeral?, Julie Cole

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Humor Writer of the Month: Lori Jakiela, Lori Jakiela

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Goldilocks, Mary Sullivan

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A Night of Hilarity, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Caught on Camera, Annette Goggin

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45 is the New... 45, Cara McDonough

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More Like My Mother, Ruth Supko Owens

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The Bicycle Chain, Susan Ross

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Sacrifice, Margie Carroll Wehner

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The Paisley Trove, Jillian Van Hefty

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Nesting Dolls of Motherhood, Vincent O'Keefe

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Naked and Unafraid, Bev Potter

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Becoming a Swiftie Dad — and other skills I've learned, Jase Graves

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Erma Made Me Do It!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Not Exactly Fast Food, Jerry Zezima

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The Oak's on Me, Jerry Zezima

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A Good Day's Work, Lindsey Roth

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Funeral Notes, Charla Schafer

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Pride Goeth Before the Fall Parent–Teacher Conference, Aline Pusecker Taylor

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You Can Write!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Heart and Sole, Marcy O'Brien

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The World's Greatest Inventions, Jase Graves

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Leave It to Geezer, Jerry Zezima

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The Fun of Faxing, Dean Norman

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Erma's Got Talent, Season Three, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Driving Course Is an Auto Motive, Jerry Zezima

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Tell Your Story, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Humor Writer of the Month: Jane Condon, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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When Memory Flails, Jase Graves

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Calendar Guy, Jerry Zezima

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Experience Erma — For Free, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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You Can Write, Too!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Bon Appétit, Kristine Hayes Nibler

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My 70s Show, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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How to Write Funny, John Branning

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How I Became a Cat Person, Jase Graves

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Pitch An Agent, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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The Root of the Problem, Jerry Zezima

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Beyond the Byline, Teri Rizvi

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Late to Work, Dean Norman

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Keeping My Eyes on the Road, Jerry Zezima

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Erma's Got Talent, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Setting Those Goals, C. Hope Clark

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My New Year's Anti-Resolutions, Jase Graves

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Humor Writer of the Month: Lou Clyde, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

Submissions from 2023

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Just Doordash Erma, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Who's Publishing What: The Weight We Carry, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

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Who's Publishing What: Happy Wife, Happy Life, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop