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
Sisterly Love, Teri Rizvi
Cabin Fever Cleaning, Margaret Hopkins
Before You Think Outside the Box, Make Sure You Know What's Out There, Wendy Gilbert Gronbeck
This Electrician was a Live Wire, Jerry Zezima
Go as far as your dreams will carry you, Erma Bombeck
A Phase 4 Refresher in Etiquette, Heather Siegel
Team Teachers — Soul Sisters, Vicki Austin
One for the ageless, Jerry Zezima
Look at these talented judges, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Stay Stealthy, My Friends!, Hillary Ibarra
Who gave oldies phones?, Julie Grenness
I wrote my own obituary, Meghan Riney
I miss you, cashier lady, Jennifer Cramer-Miller
The Great Fort Knox Breach of 2020, Cyn Epler
Cuckoo in my casa, Jan Marshall
Revelations 2020: Steve, January Gordon Ornellas
Choosing the purr-fect candidate, Allia Zobel Nolan
All creatures great and annoying, Jerry Zezima
To all the masks I've worn before, Jase Graves
A fence from holey to heavenly, Jerry Zezima
Why we should live our life more as a dog, Karen Brilliant Andrews
What's a girl to do?, Amy Schmidt
Strawberry fields for joking, Jerry Zezima
Humor Writer of the Month: Loni Love, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Hallmark Contemporary, creative heaven, Dean Norman
Necker Bedeckers, Steve Eskew
Where There's a Grill, There's a Way, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: I Tried To Change so You Don't Have To, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Powerhouse Panel of Finalists Judges for Nickie's Prize, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
It's Not the Heat, It's the Stupidity, Jerry Zezima
Lessons Learned, Karen Brilliant Andrews
Ode to Zoom, Ann Green
Prepare Now for an Unprecedented September Sports Onslaught, Charles Hartley
Socially Distancing from my Fridge and Other Challenges, Jan Marshall
Confessions of a Plantaholic, January Gordon Ornellas
A Houseboy Comes Clean, Jerry Zezima
Saving the American Shopping Mall, Jase Graves
Earning an 'A' in Antibodies, Keri Kelly
In Which I Try to Sun Myself in the Backyard While My Children Play, Meghan Riney
A Pie in the Sky Idea, Jerry Zezima
Who's Publishing What: The Daughters of Erietown, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
The Lone Ranger Would be Proud, Vicki Austin
Telecommuning with Dr. S., Sandra Dutton
Hollywood, here we come, Jerry Zezima
Sister Love: Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Seeks Sister Stories for New Humor Writing Competition, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: Alan Zweibel, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
If you want world peace, try telling a joke, Susan Mangiero
More fromage!, Jana Grzenda
Here's the dirt on vegetables, Jerry Zezima
A Menu Without Options, Mary Kay Jordan Fleming
How to pump-fake artificial intelligence today, Charles Hartley
Ask a terrier: Unmasking the mask, Dave Jaffe
Just what the doctor ordered, Jerry Zezima
What will be the new normal?, Ann Green
Quarantine quandary, Ann Green
My dating history in two centuries, Jan Marshall
Pressure drop, Frank Moroni
I don't play the harmonica, Harrison M. Beck
Hay hair, Robert Curreli
Solutions are the dreck of high-tech, Charles Hartley
The day I ran over cousin Vic, Amy Laundrie
The perils of raising parents … what's a teenager to do?, Vicki Austin
Beware the book fair, Allia Zobel Nolan
My nest runneth over, part 1, January Gordon Ornellas
What I'll do when I bust out of here, Ann Green
"After the Virus is Gone", Gianetta Palmer
Cooking my way through quarantine, Jase Graves
A Mother's Quarantine Food Diary, Hillary Ibarra
Quarantine dress, Sherri Kuhn
My fictional stalkers, Scout Petersen
Look who's walking, Jerry Zezima
#MayDay, Jayne Robinson
Humor Writer of the Month: Abe Yospe, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: Alexa's a Spy and Other Things to Be Ticked off About, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: Ghosts of Harvard, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
The Meat and Potatoes of Life: My True Lit Com, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Who's Publishing What: The Sweeney Sisters, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Hair today, gone tomorrow, Jerry Zezima
The dirty room, Peter Braun
Mah Jongg mania, Natalie Cinelli
The new me-normal, Steve Eskew
Confused by cloud computing? Float right up, Charles Hartley
Sourdough bread during lockdown, Diane Nagle
Quarantine grocery shopping, Shannon Armenis
The broken plunger, Deva Gallagher
Some notes from the Q, Ellen Scolnic
Poems for our weird circumstances, Ann Green
Why my daughter needs to see I work my tail off, Allia Zobel Nolan
Invisible chef, Heather Siegel
Our mantra: 'See you at the 40th!', Alan Zweibel
Love at the landfill, Jerry Zezima
Caddying, Peter Braun
Our shoebox, Robert Curreli
Mask on, Marie Lemond
Coronavirus cancelled our wedding, but we had it anyway, Jenna Wimshurst
Empty nesters, Margaret Hopkins
My first encounter with blockchain was insane, Charles Hartley
Who's Publishing What: Good Grammar Is the Life of the Party, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
I am a columnist, Paul Lander
Bored, Amy McVay Abbott
