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
The Sheltering Suburbanite to Her Neighbor, Melissa Balmain
Humor Writer of the Month: Melissa Balmain, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Stories to Tell, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: Southern Mae O’Naze, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: Black Dog, White Couch, and the Rest of My Really Bad Ideas, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: The Elements of Stress, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Things I Learned During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Antoinette Pecaski
Tis the Season, Teri Rizvi
Hot Stuff in the Kitchen, Jerry Zezima
Feeding Each Other's Souls, Teri Rizvi
The Chat Bar, Janie Emaus
A Tale of Two Women, Julie Grenness
Christmas (and Then Some) in July, Laurie O'Connor Stephans
For the Love of Erma, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Give Thanks, Marie Lemond
The Winning Touch, Teri Rizvi
Clothes Encounters of the Worst Kind, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: Point of Pines, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Like Grandmum, Like Grandson, Steve Eskew
No Blood on the Street, Deborah Weir
Who's Publishing What: Swing, Batta, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Forget Spain and Portugal — Why I'm Taking a 'Detox-a-cation', Allia Zobel Nolan
They Don't Have Me Covered, Jerry Zezima
LOL Aftershocks, Teri Rizvi
Who's Publishing What: A Dog's Perfect Christmas, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
A Family Affair, January Gordon Ornellas
Who's Publishing What: The Fire Slayers, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
6 Signs of a Baking Addiction, Hillary Ibarra
Who's Publishing What: The Detective in the Dooryard, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Never Have I Ever...Had a Sister, Keri Kelly
Adventures in Remote Learning, Dean Norman
Wackos Create An Identity Crisis, Jerry Zezima
Grief and Ghosts, Michelle Burge
Virtual Erma, Yvonne Ransel
Humor Writer of the Month: Regina Stoops, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Pandemic Halloween 2020, Amy McVay Abbott
Got Lenses?, Vicki Austin
Who's Publishing What: Out of My Mind, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Elect to Talk Politics with the Family, Jase Graves
Encouragement, Mike Rowe
Sole Searching at the Shoe Store, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: You're Leaving When?, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Endora's Daughters, Julie Grenness
These Candidates Left Voters Speechless, Jerry Zezima
Law and Odor: Special Refrigerator Unit, Jennifer Cramer-Miller
Who's Publishing What: The Other Side of the Wall, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
This Customer is Always Right, Jerry Zezima
Confessions of a Poinsettia Killer, Cynthia Bombach
I Can See Clearly Now, Mary Ellen Collins
Coming to the Stage, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
I See Dead People, Hillary Ibarra
You Don't Have to Pardon My French, Jerry Zezima
The Fighting Chipmunk, Dean Norman
Are You Chitin Me?, January Gordon Ornellas
The Spouse in the House, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: A Time to Seek, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Performing at Erma's Got Talent?, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Humor Writer of the Month: Riane Konc, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Sister Love: Nickie's Prize Winners Named, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Granddaughters' Art Is a Big Draw, Jerry Zezima
Mom's Example, Karen Brilliant Andrews
Hairmony, Natalie Cinelli
Boomer Babes!, Julie Grenness
Ya'll Come Back Now! (Or Not), Wendy Gilbert Gronbeck
Spoiler Alert! I Did Not Win Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, Jan Marshall
Going to Seed With a Lawn Guy, Jerry Zezima
Free Laughs, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Rodents, Roaches, Reptiles and Resilience, Donna Fentanes
Write On! Free Workshop Registrations Available for UD Students, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Some People Have a Knack, Marie Lemond
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow, Mary McGrath
A coffee maker's brew ha ha, Jerry Zezima
Living on the Wild Side, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
God Made Us Just Right, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Why a Cat Is Still Better Than a Man, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Zoom Zoom, Nancy Malcolm
How to Drown Out Your Neighbor's Barking Dog (and Not Go on a Rampage), Vicki Austin
Latkes for Santa Claus, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Back to School ... Sort Of, Jase Graves
The Alan Factor in Election Polls, Dean Norman
Bowled Over By Grandma, Keri Kelly
Beach Blanket Birdbrain, Jerry Zezima
"Thimk!", Steve Eskew
Write On! Workshop Goes Virtual, Teri Rizvi
Home Sweat Home, Jerry Zezima
Mary Kay Fleming's Zoom Bingo Board, Mary Kay Jordan Fleming
How your Father Won the War, Deborah Weir
Out on a Limb with Yard Work, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: Relatively Painless, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Yummy Mummy at Home, Julie Grenness
Your Pen Name Could be Leading an Exciting Life of its Own!, Stephanie D. Lewis
Masked and Afraid, Michelle Spencer
I Feel Bad About My Neck Hair (with apologies to Nora Ephron), Kathy Steenson
Perfectly Respectable Chompers, January Gordon Ornellas
Diary of a Powerless Homeowner, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: Every Day is Saturday, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Seeking Shelter, Wendy Gilbert Gronbeck
Bed, Bath and Beyond My Scope, Jase Graves
Banks for Nothing, Moneybags, Jerry Zezima
Humor Writer of the Month: Rebecca Regnier, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
