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 2018
Curling, a mind-bending turn of events, Sammy Sportface
This caveman is a cool guy, Jerry Zezima
Descaling the coffeemaker, Amy McVay Abbott
The name game, Sharon Gerger
Daddy was a saver, Nancy Malcolm
Winning writers, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Betsy Bombeck to keynote ceremony; Centerville Library boosts value of prizes, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
How to survive a southern snowpocalypse, Jase Graves
Expectations, Amanda Hill
9,000 hours shy, Sammy Sportface
The brew crew, Jerry Zezima
What a team, Kaye Curren
Subway malfunctions, Steve Eskew
Celebrating Bill Bombeck, Teri Rizvi
10 reasons I have a love/hate relationship with football, Marcia Kester Doyle
Allergic to life, Mari Emeraude
Letter reveals Tom Brady's deepest regret, Sammy Sportface
On being a lady, Kerry Anne Harris
Tips for a great book launch party, Judy Gruen
An incidental finding of a gastric foreign body 25 years after ingestion, Jennifer Golden
Happy New Year! Ok, not so much to those pesky trolls, Paul Lander
Breaking bad - habits, Maggie Millus
Color me beautiful, Jerry Zezima
Bill Bombeck: A life well lived, Patricia Wynn Brown
2018 resolutions and this year I mean it, Amy Koko
My ever loving breasts, Anne Bardsley
For cold times' sake, Jerry Zezima
Submissions from 2017
Humor, healing and hope, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
New year's absolution, Jase Graves
Old ears, the secret to a happy marriage, Sharon Gerger
Deck the halls — or else, Pam Sherman
Surviving coal for Christmas, Myron Kukla
The Zezimas' 2017 Christmas letter, Jerry Zezima
Newspaper love affair, Chris Gaffney
How to live in this world, Kim Bongiorno
Decisions, decisions, Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
When Good Professors Go Bad, Mary Kay Jordan Fleming
The elf on the edge: a Christmas irritation, Jase Graves
The gift of the magi – a dog’s tale, Laura Hudgens
The benefits of the doubt, Jerry Zezima
The other Grandmom, Anne Bardsley
40 writers selected for EBWW humor anthology, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Sickness does make you the best mommy, Florence Kimani
Fat lies, Diane Pascoe
Because nothing says romance like a bread maker, Laura Becker
Naked and afraid to eat, Lynne Cobb
In. Bam., Teri Rizvi
2018 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop sells out in record time, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Do not disturb! Writers win A Hotel Room of One's Own, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Battle of the dorm room moms, Laura Fahrenthold
Wryter's block, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
I failed the martial rating scale, Janene Dutt
What I've survived (up until now), Raymond Reid
Isn't it organic?, Jerry Zezima
Give the gift of laughter, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Creamed onions and reindeer sneezes, Anne Bardsley
A late bloomer boomer, Steve Eskew
You can write!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Worth the weight, Jerry Zezima
The garage sale strikes back, Jase Graves
Turkey day has become chopped liver, Raymond Reid
I'm ovulated to say that!, Donna Fentanes
Choir misfits, Anne Bardsley
Single Parenting, Christine McCue
How to prepare for the family Thanksgiving gathering, Molly Stevens
Love is a battlefield – midlife style, Lynne Cobb
Just say, “huh?”, Tracy Buckner
Be an Erma champion on #GivingTuesday, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
An overflowing glass, Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Don't quit your day job, Jerry Zezima
The real meaning of deer hunting, Mary Farr
Laughing at the selves we create. My horror-ble halloween costume, Karen DeBonis
My kids said “mom” 159 times in 6 hours and I nearly lost it … until I made a list, Janene Dutt
Haunted manners, Jase Graves
How online shopping will replace husbands, Magnolia Ripkin
Stomping With the Stars, Jerry Zezima
I take a pill for this, but I don’t think it’s working, Laura Jackson Roberts
Bravo!, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
To fold or roll, Cindy Argiento
Call for submissions: humor anthology, Allia Zobel Nolan
When bad things don’t happen to you, Alizabeth Worley
Stand me up at the gates of hell, Fredrick Marion
My gluteus maximus research, Karen DeBonis
This little light of mine, I'm gonna … well, I'm not sure what the hell I'm gonna do!, Laura Becker
Can the lowly turnip dethrone the pumpkin?, Molly Stevens
The day the wheel fell off, Maya Sinha
Oh my God, what shall I wear?, Kaye Curren
Growing up with Playboy, Myron Kukla
Lions and tigers and beers, Oh, my!, Jerry Zezima
Spare us the asparagus, Jase Graves
Sharp as a mitten filled with Jello, Steve Eskew
Ode to adult acne, Courtney Kotloski
No bed of roses, Jerry Zezima
What mom would do, Leslie Blanchard
There's only one Erma Bombeck, Marsha Henry Goff
Humorist-in-Residence program launched, Sharon Short
Junkyard dog tags, Jerry Zezima
Faking it … as a farm girl, Cynthia Bain
Clueless, Nancy Malcolm
My tumor, Yvonne Ransel
