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 2021
There Goes My Life, Mary Oves
An Unforgettable Mark, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Humor Writer of the Month: Colleen Markley, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
The Imaginary Invalid, Mary Ellen Collins
Let's Get Physical, Jerry Zezima
Tools of Vanity, Leslie Freiberger
Grass Over Turf, Bill Levine
In Praise of Whimsy, Leslie Miklosy
Pole Dancing with the Stars, Jerry Zezima
Mia's Holiday Journal, Julie Grenness
Goats in Charge, Mary Oves
My Mother, the Frugal Finn, Sharon Love Cook
The Winner By a Nose, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: Read, Laugh, Repeat, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Panic Wrinkles, Hillary Ibarra
Humorous Sympathy Cards, Dean Norman
Mother and (Grown-Up) Child Reunion, Jerry Zezima
Humor Writer of the Month: Andrea Caspari, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
This Guy's a Real Card, Jerry Zezima
Those Five Words, January Gordon Ornellas
Erma, in Her Own Words, Teri Rizvi
The One!, Julie Grenness
Put on a Happy Face, Jerry Zezima
Little Victories, Courtney Thomas
Dotting My Eye, Jerry Zezima
Minimum Wage, Kristine Hayes
Pvt. Morgan's Problem, Dean Norman
On Puns and Needles, Jerry Zezima
Humor Writer of the Month: January Gordon Ornellas, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
From Funny Bones to Phony Bones, Steve Eskew
The Boomers Are Back!, Keri Kelly
Stuffed Green Peppers, Della Valenzuela
Put a Cork in It, Jerry Zezima
A Woman and Her Fur, Julie Grenness
2022 Call for Faculty Proposals, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Smooth Selling in the Showroom, Jerry Zezima
Have I Taught You Nothing?, January Gordon Ornellas
A Tribe of Loud, Smart, Funny Women, Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
A Shot and a Beer, Jerry Zezima
A Hello to Arms, Jerry Zezima
Is This Heaven?, Curt MacDougall
Humor Writer of the Month: Jillian Van Hefty, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Under the Influence, Jerry Zezima
Laughter on Sale, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Ties That Bind, Julie Grenness
Crying Over Spilled (Breast) Milk, Brad Snyder
Erma Bombeck: Laughing Through the Pain, Allia Zobel Nolan
A Shot in the Dark, Jerry Zezima
Zooming with Annabelle Gurwitch and Laraine Newman, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: The Lightmaker's Manifesto, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Eggings Over Easy, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: The Seeker and the Monk, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
The Stat, January Gordon Ornellas
Aging Gracefully, Derek Bremer
Who's Publishing What: A Million Reasons Why, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: Rewrite the Stars, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: The Stills, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Little Romeo, Hillary Ibarra
Valentine's Day Dance, Myron Kukla
Why Toast is Overrated, Curt MacDougall
Advice for the First Lady on Adopting a Feline, Allia Zobel Nolan
They Do An Ice Job, Jerry Zezima
100 Is Such a Nice Number, Dean Norman
As Screens Come Up, Walls Come Down, Teri Rizvi
Humor Writer of the Month: Tracy McArdle Brady, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
The Zany Snow God, Steve Eskew
The Poppie Show, Jerry Zezima
The Upside of Masks, Ann Green
The Bucks Stop Here, Jerry Zezima
A Bathroom of One's Own, Rebekah Iliff
When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Jessica Fletcher, Keri Kelly
Secrets, Shenanigans and the Sister Code, Lisa Marlin
Don't Swear!, Julie Grenness
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Mad Tooth, Jerry Zezima
If I Were a Rich (Wo)man …, Laurie O'Connor Stephans
Sowing Hope, Teri Rizvi
To Have and Have Knocks, Jerry Zezima
Humor Saves Us, Teri Rizvi
Fast Funny Women, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Humor Writer of the Month: Emily Flake, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Soaring, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
The Maximalist, January Gordon Ornellas
Supermarket Driving Test, Jerry Zezima
Submissions from 2020
A Remarkable Funeral, Rose Jacob
My Best New Year's Eve Party, Dean Norman
Goodbye From the Good Humor Guy, Jerry Zezima
O Wise Queens, Julie Grenness
The Zezimas' 2020 Christmas Letter, Jerry Zezima
Do You Speak Covid?, Ann Green
Christmas Truce?, Vicki Austin
All I Want for Christmas is the New Vaccine!, Jase Graves
First Christmas, Hillary Ibarra
For Whom the Bell Doesn't Toll, Jerry Zezima
How to Find a Husband, Deborah Weir
Who's Publishing What: Melody's Magical Flying Machine, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
It's Been Quite the Year, Derek Ries
Pelotaur, January Gordon Ornellas
A Grandfather's Guide to Physical Fitness, Jerry Zezima
Home Alone, Mary Ellen Collins
Ho, Ho, Ho, Santa Claus, Dean Norman
