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.
Note: Publication of a piece on the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop blog does not constitute endorsement by the workshop or the University of Dayton. Opinions expressed in the pieces are those of the authors, not the University or the workshop.
Submissions from 2020
Profile: Lee St. John, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Submissions from 2019
My son, the rock star, Vicki Austin
The reluctant baker: Solving a holiday dilemma, Courtney Bennett
A typical slow-motion train wreck of a year, Derek Ries
The Zezimas' 2019 Christmas letter, Jerry Zezima
Orange trumps red and green this Christmas, Steve Eskew
Near Christmas birthday blues, Stacey Gustafson
E-Day, Teri Rizvi
Another Christmas card letter, Jase Graves
Same tree next year, Regina Stoops
Oh, Tannenbaum, Curt MacDougall
Santa's Key West Wreck, Linda W. Curtis
The June Carter Cash catastrophe, Michele Miles Gardiner
You can leave the toilet seat up, Vicki Austin
Obsolete, Jane Hertenstein
Too cuticle for words, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: The Hollows, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Ask a terrier: Mark of the Hallmark, Dave Jaffe
Share the Erma love on #GivingTuesday, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Profile: Lori B. Duff, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Tales of a SuperPup, April Hawkins
It's Erma time!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Repast due, John Branning
Foiled by fall foliage, Jase Graves
Skirting the issue, Christine Tapper
Welcome to our passive-aggressive support group, did you mean to sit there?, Vicki Austin
The Barber of Flatbush Avenue, Kaye Curren
Dancing from the Inside Out, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
And the bathrobes go to ..., Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
How to bathe a baby, Jerry Zezima
The dark, vile, putrid side of parenting (or things no one tells you are going to happen), Fredrick Marion
Choosing the purr-fact candidate, Allia Zobel Nolan
Let's go social, Erma champions!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: Looking Back at Elyria, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Write in the spirit of Erma — and win, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
How's your momma and nem, Kristie Noojin-Barnett
Profile: James Breakwell, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: As Long As It's Perfect, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Rat soup in Madrid, Bull Garlington
With beer, the sky's the limit, Jerry Zezima
The Turkey Blessing, Linda W. Curtis
What NOT to say to someone with writer's block, Stephanie D. Lewis
Weaned on Halloween, Jase Graves
Sticker notes, Marie Lemond
The surprising similarities between college visits and bachelorette parties, Liz Alterman
Take My Prostate … Please!, Steve Bluestein
Lamebrain name-storming, Steve Eskew
Dancing to checkout, Jan Marshall
Slights, slams, slander, and gender pronoun switches, Pamela Jane
The kindest cut of all, Jerry Zezima
Finding the funny, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Twenty things I've definitely never said to my second graders (cross my heart and hope to die), Vicki Austin
Say yes to the mess, Rebekah Iliff
Who's Publishing What: Just Because I Used to Could …, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Souvenir Rocks, Hillary Ibarra
I'm sorry, Cindy Argiento
Old and gray, Randi Mazzella
A writer's Disneyworld, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Drumroll! Introducing preliminary judges, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Gluten saved my marriage, Jon Ziegler
Profile: Annabelle Gurwitch, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Must-know info, Marie Lemond
Tales of the tech kind, Kristie Noojin-Barnett
Retirement is going to work, Jerry Zezima
Only sweat the small stuff if the A/C is out, Jase Graves
Lasagna and explosions, Ilene Haddad
Who's Publishing What: Very Modern Mantras, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
New grandkids double the fun, Jerry Zezima
Erma-induced social anxiety, Lori B. Duff
Who's Publishing What: If You Did What I Asked in the First Place, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: What's Your Story?, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What" The Frugal Book Promoter, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Hole-in-one becomes a tabloid tale, Sharon Love Cook
Profile: Mike Birbiglia, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Something fishy at our house, Jerry Zezima
Throw yourself on the ground and scream, W. Bruce Cameron
Climbing the family tree, Jeanette Cubillos-DomingueCubillos-Dominguez
An open letter to the EBWW community, Mark Shatz
Sun, sand, seafood, and pig puppets, Jase Graves
Statins or donuts?, Hilary Hattenbach
Pooling our resources, Jerry Zezima
One letter off movie titles, Reid Moore
A philandering philanthropist? Uh, never!, Steve Eskew
Seeking unemployment benefits, Jan Marshall
Rest in peace?, Kaye Curren
Eat, darling, eat, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
New Book: Teacher Tattletales, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Don't call me, I'll call you, Jerry Zezima
How a pair of mannequin legs got my son through his freshman year of college, Vicki Austin
A hotel room along the Dayton Riviera, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Profile: Joanne Brokaw, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
A serious case of the boyfriends, Jase Graves
New Book: Suddenly Stardust, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
My looney lunar moon landing dinner, Ann Green
Lesson No. 1: Use the brakes, Jerry Zezima
New Book: Never Argue With a Wiener Dog: You'll Lose!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Roller derby, Janice Wilberg
The Talent, Hillary Ibarra
New Book: The Way We Work: On the Job in Hollywood, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Field day comes off the bucket list, Jerry Zezima
