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 2019
Beaching with teens — and other hazards, Jase Graves
How to write a sentence, Lois Simenson
Profile: Mary Kay Jordan Fleming, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
A window into the imagination and insanity of Hollywood, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Baby you can drive my car--or my tank, Jase Graves
Movies: the stupider, the better, Ann Green
Father knows best, Kay Curren
Eskew-tricities, Steve Eskew
Jan the Ripper, former woman of letters, Jan Marshall
Come and meet those dancing feet, Jerry Zezima
Do Not Disturb!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Piccolina, Andrea Gelfuso Goetz
Laughter wins, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
The art of heavy packing, Jennifer Cramer-Miller
You never outgrow Dr. Suess!, Ann Green
Profile: V.C. Chickering, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Erma's back!, Teri Rizvi
An indoorsman's guide to yard work, Jase Graves
A tale of 2 fridges and a summer of cold beer, Jerry Zezima
Pooh-pooh Pulitzers, John Branning
My four decades of lip shtick, Jerry Zezima
Why do mothers make the best parole officers?, Jan Marshall
New Book: Life Seemed Good, But …, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Lime Poisoning (Or Hint of Awful), Hillary Ibarra
Date night at the diner, Jerry Zezima
Profile: Brian Kiley, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Where do y'all wanna go eat?, Jase Graves
Romance on the zoo train, Deborah Weir
New book: Reconciliation of the Heart, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Doctor, doctor, test me the news, Jan Marshall
Why are you still here?, Sherry Smith
Home sweet home, Cindy Argiento
Jealous husband? Or the extinction of cockroaches?, Steve Eskew
Bellying up to the genius bar, Jerry Zezima
The honeymoon is over, Debra Arbit
New book: Puttin' on the Dog and Gettin' Bit, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
New book: The Ultimate Cartoon Book of Book Cartoons by the World's Greatest Cartoonists, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Why is marriage like a tourniquet?, Jan Marshall
New Book: Maybe Kevin, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Crossing the border, Jass Richards
Erma Bombeck and Betty Friedan – two sides of the same coin, Susan Marie Frontczak
In praise of a national silliness day, Allia Zobel Nolan
In Washington, D.C., 3 toddlers show the way, Jerry Zezima
New book: Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Profile: Cathy Guisewite, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Dave Barry and Adriana Trigiani to judge 'A Hotel Room of One's Own' finalists, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
My intelligence leak, Anne Bardsley
Wrestling with unmentionables at the laundromat, Jerry Zezima
Dancing with the dads, Jase Graves
Erma Bombeck: The myth about legends, Susan Marie Frontczak
A friend, indeed, Molly D. Campbell
D-S-T Monday, Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
New workstations signify the rise and fall of my new desk, Jerry Zezima
Profile: Dorothy Rosby, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Trailblazer, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Erma Bombeck – 25-year overnight success!, Susan Marie Frontczak
Wow! That smarts!, Dave Jaffe
Should I confess or brag?, Jan Marshall
Bob and the Great Pigeon War, Deborah Weir
No kidding, Susan Marie Frontczak
This cake is for you, Mom, Marie Lemond
Baby boomer Jerry's moving company declares 'chapter 60', Jerry Zezima
Marry me, Marie Kondo, Jan Marshall
How to develop a maternal (aka survival) instinct, Laurie O'Connor Stephans
The Ballad of the Built-in Fingernail, Rick Broussard
Erma Bombeck's humor: pleasure or pain?, Susan Marie Frontczak
Curl up and diet, Jase Graves
When memory and hearing loss collide, Anne Bardsley
My bodyguard Barbara, Steve Eskew
How I became a vanishing Valentine villain!, Stephanie D. Lewis
New tooth fairy in town: The last true believer falls, Courtney Bennett
It's 'Be Kind to Men Day', Jan Marshall
A long bout of social insecurity when applying for benefits, Jerry Zezima
Baader-Meinhof and 'The Summer Day', Christine McCue
Love is more than a bottle of 'Jump Me' and a diamond eternity necklace, Allia Zobel Nolan
Profile: Leigh Anne Jasheway, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
THE conference for humor writers, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Up yours, tidying up, Laurie O'Connor Stephans
Fantasy feasts, Jennifer Cramer-Miller
New comic strip: Table Talk, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
How not to cross the social media 'thin line', Adam Earnheardt
New book: Family Guide to Mental Illness and the Law: A Practical Handbook, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Things my mother used to say, Julia Wilson
The grandkid olympics keep Poppie fit and trim, Jerry Zezima
The Mother of All Makeovers, Mary Kay Jordan Fleming
Ordinary in age of extraordinary, Cara McDonough
Humor is a survival tool on Rikers Island, Jerry Zezima
Wellness in the new year, Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Surviving lost penmanship skills, Myron Kukla
Animal Planet, Janice Wilberg
Profile: Marilyn Simon Rothstein, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
2018: the year in askew, Jase Graves
Submissions from 2018
New Book: Surviving the Holidays (HELL-i-DAZE), Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
A rave review for the paving crew in front of my house, Jerry Zezima
The gift of elf prints, Anne Bardsley
The tragical mystery book tour, Bob Eckstein
Erma Bombeck, the suburban housewife, Susan Marie Frontczak
Have yourself a merry little … hedgehog, Jase Graves
Lipstick touchers, Janice Wilberg
Large Hearts and Full Figures, Hillary Ibarra
