Erma Bombeck Writing Competition

Erma Bombeck Writing Competition
“Hook ’em with the lead. Hold ’em with laughter. Exit with a quip they won't forget." ˜ Erma Bombeck
The Erma Bombeck Writing Competition opens on December 2, 2025, at 8 A.M. (EST)!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition! 480 writers from 7 different countries and 48 states attempted to capture the essence of Erma's writings. Read the winning entries.

About this Competition


Capture the essence of Erma's writings and you could win $1,000 and a free registration to the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop to be held March 26-28, 2026 at the University of Dayton! Honorable mentions will receive $100.


Erma Bombeck, graduated from the University of Dayton in 1949, lived with her husband and family in Centerville, Ohio, and inspired people worldwide with her columns and books about life's trials and tribulations. Her memory lives on with the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition hosted every two years by the Washington-Centerville Public Library and the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop hosted by the University of Dayton.


For more information or questions about this competition, please call Debe Dockins at 937-610-4429 or send an email to: ddockins@wclibrary.info.


Eligibility & Rules

Eligibility:

  • Entries are accepted from anywhere in the world.
  • Previous contest winners are encouraged to enter.
  • Children under 13 are NOT eligible to enter.
  • Registration to the University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop is NOT required to enter the writing competition.
  • The following are not eligible to enter: Washington-Centerville Public Library employees and board members, contest judges, and Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop faculty and speakers for the current year. Relatives of the same groups are also not eligible.

Rules:

  • $25 entry fee.
  • Entry must be written in English.
  • Limit one entry total (not per category) per person.
  • Personal essay must be 450 words or less (entries of more than 450 words will be disqualified, Erma's columns were 450 words or less).
  • Essay must be previously unpublished in its entirety or pieces thereof. Essays must not have been previously published in a blog, book, magazine, social media, website or any other medium.
  • Essay must be written by one person; no writing teams, ghostwriters or writing partnerships. No AI assistance.
  • Payment and entry must be submitted online using the official online entry form. PayPal link will be visible below when the contest opens. You do not need to set up a PayPal account in order to pay the Entry Fee. PayPal accepts credit cards and is simply the administrator of the payment.
  • Hard copy entries will not be accepted and will not be returned if submitted.
  • Deadline for entry submission is January 6, 2026, at 8 PM EST. Late entries are not permitted. Do not wait until 7:30 PM to enter!
  • All submissions are final! Corrections to and replacements for submitted essays will not be allowed.
  • By submitting your entry, you guarantee the work was written by you and expresses your original ideas.
  • Washington-Centerville Public Library reserves the non-exclusive right to publish the winning entries; however, the owner retains ownership rights for future publication.

How to Enter

  • Choose one category for entry:
    • Humor (Is it funny?)
    • Human Interest (Is it touching and poignant, but less humorous?)
  • Write a personal essay of 450 words or less following the judging criteria.
    A personal essay "deals lightly, often humorously, with personal experiences, opinions, and prejudices, stressing especially the unusual or novel in attitude and having to do with the various aspects of everyday life." ˜ Phillip Lopate, The Art of the Personal Essay.

Meet Our Finalist Judges


The Library is proud to announce that Beth Macy and Betsy Bombeck will serve as finalist judges for the 2026 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition.


Photo of Beth Macy and Betsy Bombeck
Final Judges Beth Macy and Betsy Bombeck

Beth Macy — Human‐Interest Final Judge

Beth Macy is a Virginia-based journalist who writes about outsiders and underdogs. She is the New York Times best-selling author of four books, including Factory Man and Dopesick, which won the L.A. Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, and was described as a "masterwork of narrative nonfiction" by The New York Times.

Dopesick was made into a Peabody- and Emmy Award-winning Hulu series; Macy was an executive producer and cowriter on the show. Her 2022 book, Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis, was a follow-up to Dopesick and explored on-the-ground solutions to the nation's drug epidemic.

A 2023 Guggenheim Fellow and a 2010 Nieman Fellow for Journalism at Harvard, Macy has also written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post. Her next book, Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, is a combination memoir and reported examination of the rural-urban divide told through the lenses of declining upward mobility, political polarization, and the decimation of local and regional news. It will publish October 7, 2025.

Betsy Bombeck — Humor Final Judge

Betsy Bombeck, the only daughter of Bill and Erma Bombeck, is a licensed master social worker who is a Faculty Associate in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. Currently she is establishing a private practice focusing on complex trauma, addictions, adoption, LGBTQ+ community issues, and somatic therapies in Phoenix, Arizona. As if that isn't enough, she has been the President/Owner of Bombeck Design Group, Inc a design/build company established in 2005 and AZ Dump Trailer Services.

Most recent board service includes serving as the co-chair along with her brothers Matt and Andy of the National Kidney Foundation of Arizona's Capital Campaign, the president of the Board of South of the Salt providing 12 step recovery meetings in Phoenix, and board member of the Foundation for Living Medicine creating new paradigms in the delivery of health care world wide. In her spare time (I know you're thinking when does that happen--but it does) she enjoys travel, Phoenix Suns basketball, any college or professional women's basketball game (especially the Phoenix Mercury), reading, learning, and advocating for women. To say the least she really enjoys life to the fullest!

Erma Bombeck Awards Ceremony

Betsy Bombeck, Keynote Speaker

Betsy Bombeck portrait
  • March 25, 2026, at 7 PM EDT at Woodbourne Library.
  • The program is free, but registration is required to ensure adequate seating.
  • The Awards Ceremony honors the winners of the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition who will read their essays.








Erma Competition ‐ Important Dates Erma Competition ‐ Get Inspired Erma Competition ‐ Eligibility Erma Competition ‐ Enter Erma Competition ‐ Judging Erma Competition ‐ Prizes & Winners Erma Competition ‐ Writers' Workshop Erma Celebration Erma Competition ‐ Partners

Important Dates


November 5, 2025 (Noon EST): Registration Opens for Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop (at UD March 26–28, 2026)

December 2, 2025 (8 AM EST): Erma Bombeck Writing Competition Opens

January 6, 2026 (8 PM EST): Erma Bombeck Writing Competition Closes

January 8, 2026 through mid-February: Erma Bombeck Writing Competition Judging

Week of February 16, 2026: (projected) Winners Announced

March 25, 2026: Erma Bombeck Awards Evening Featuring Betsy Bombeck, Keynote Speaker, Woodbourne Library

March 26–28, 2026: U.D. Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

Get Inspired!


View The Erma Bombeck Collection video which premiered at the 2022 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition Awards Ceremony. It's a glimpse of the treasure that's in the Erma Bombeck Collection in the University of Dayton's archives.

Judging

  • Entries in the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition are judged in three rounds.
  • All entries are judged anonymously.
  • All judges are highly qualified and may include actors, authors, bloggers, columnists, comedians, directors, editors, producers, professors, and writers from across the globe.
  • Final Round judging will be Betsy Bombeck (Humor) and Beth Macy (Human Interest).

General Criteria (All entries)

  • Does it have the voice of Erma? Erma knew how to portray the humor in the mundaneness of everyday life, without being mean. She was also a "clean" writer.
  • Is it organized? Does it stay on topic and have well-developed ideas?
  • Does it have a compelling lead? The piece should "Hook 'em with the lead. Hold 'em with laughter. Exit with a quip they won't forget."

Humor Criteria (Humor entries)

  • General criteria as stated above.
  • Is it funny?

Human Interest Criteria (Human interest entries)

  • General criteria as stated above.
  • Is it true and does it evoke emotion?

Winners & Prizes

  • Read past winning entries.
  • 4 first place winners will be selected:
    • Humor ‐ Global (Non-Ohio & International)
    • Humor ‐ Local (All Ohio Entries)
    • Human Interest ‐ Global (Non-Ohio & International)
    • Human Interest ‐ Local (All Ohio Entries)
  • $1,000 cash prize to first place winners in all four categories and $100 to Honorable Mentions.
  • First place winners also receive free admission ($524 value) to the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop hosted by the University of Dayton from March 26–28, 2026. First place winners who have already registered and paid for the Workshop will have their registration fee refunded. Winners who are on the Workshop Waiting List or have not registered for the Workshop, will be admitted to the Workshop, if they want to attend.
  • Winning essays will be published on Washington-Centerville Public Library's website.
  • A press release will be sent locally and to the winners hometowns.
  • Judges will also select several essays for Honorable Mention.
  • Decisions of the judges are final.

University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

  • Hosted by the University of Dayton
  • Registration starts November 5, 2025.
  • Workshop dates: March 26–28, 2026.
  • $524 Registration Fee (waived for winners of the writing competition)
  • Read about the keynote speakers, sessions, and workshop presenters on the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop website.
  • Attendance at this workshop is NOT required to enter the writing competition.

Partners

University of Dayton