Erma Bombeck Writing Competition - Winners
Competition Draws Writers from around the World
More than 1,350 writers from 18 countries and all 50 states (plus Washington, D.C.) entered the 2008 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition sponsored by Washington-Centerville Public Library, WHIO-TV, and the University of Dayton. In the end, judges chose essays from the Dayton area, as well as Missouri and Connecticut as winners in the competition's twelfth year.
"The response continues to amaze year after year," comments Mike Colvin, coordinator of the annual contest. "It's wonderful to see such fondness for Erma and enthusiasm for writing here in her home town; and it is particularly impressive to see that excitement extend to every U.S. state and around the globe. We're thrilled that the competition encourages so many writers locally while also reaching as far as Kenya, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic."
Colvin credits the high response rate to Bombeck's broad appeal, the fact that the competition does not charge an entry fee, and the Library's partnership with the University of Dayton, where the bi-annual Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop is coordinated by Tim Bete. Bete's workshop e-newsletter helps promote the writing competition to past attendees and others interested in humor writing. This year's Writers Workshop is scheduled for April 3 - 5.
The annual writing competition pays tribute to Erma Bombeck, one of America's great humorists, and encourages aspiring writers to submit previously unpublished personal essays of 450 words or fewer. First prizes were awarded to local and global winners in two categories, Humor and Human Interest. Judges also selected several entries for Honorable Mention.
Entries were judged in two rounds - first by a panel of judges from across the United States and Canada, and then by a final judge in each category.
About the Final Judges:
Martha Bolton, Humor Category
Martha Bolton has written over eighty books of humor and inspiration, including the popular Didn't My Skin Used to Fit and Cooking With Hot Flashes. She was a staff writer for Bob Hope for over fifteen years, and also wrote for numerous others including Phyllis Diller, Ann Jillian, John Davidson, and Mark Lowry. Most recently she helped write the New York Times bestselling Rick and Bubba books. Martha has received both an Emmy nomination and a Dove award nomination for her writing, as well as four Angel awards. Martha wrote the popular Cafeteria Lady column for Focus on the Family's BRIO magazine for more than a dozen years, and currently writes the Miss P.E. column for BRIO. Martha's work has appeared in numerous magazines including Reader's Digest, and various Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Martha also enjoys script writing and has written approximately twenty books of comedy sketches and monologues for church drama groups and schools.
Laura Pulfer, Human Interest Category
After her first year at the Cincinnati Enquirer, Laura Pulfer was named Best Columnist in Ohio by both the Associated Press and the Society for Professional Journalists, who later elected her to their Hall of Fame. I Beg to Differ, an anthology of her columns and commentaries for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, was on the regional best-seller list for 13 weeks. Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist and Zits creator Jim Borgman says, "Laura writes at ground level where the rest of us live. Barbie’s slut shoes, diversity on the bus... Somehow, along the way, she covers everything that really matters." Novelist Stephen Birmingham called her second book, Mothers and Other Heroes "funny and wise and pointed and passionate." She lives now in Bellefontaine, Ohio, where she raises horses and directs a riding program for special needs children, the topic of her next book.
More than 1,350 writers from 18 countries and all 50 states (plus Washington, D.C.) entered the 2008 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition sponsored by Washington-Centerville Public Library, WHIO-TV, and the University of Dayton. In the end, judges chose essays from the Dayton area, as well as Missouri and Connecticut as winners in the competition's twelfth year.
"The response continues to amaze year after year," comments Mike Colvin, coordinator of the annual contest. "It's wonderful to see such fondness for Erma and enthusiasm for writing here in her home town; and it is particularly impressive to see that excitement extend to every U.S. state and around the globe. We're thrilled that the competition encourages so many writers locally while also reaching as far as Kenya, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic."
Colvin credits the high response rate to Bombeck's broad appeal, the fact that the competition does not charge an entry fee, and the Library's partnership with the University of Dayton, where the bi-annual Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop is coordinated by Tim Bete. Bete's workshop e-newsletter helps promote the writing competition to past attendees and others interested in humor writing. This year's Writers Workshop is scheduled for April 3 - 5.
The annual writing competition pays tribute to Erma Bombeck, one of America's great humorists, and encourages aspiring writers to submit previously unpublished personal essays of 450 words or fewer. First prizes were awarded to local and global winners in two categories, Humor and Human Interest. Judges also selected several entries for Honorable Mention.
Entries were judged in two rounds - first by a panel of judges from across the United States and Canada, and then by a final judge in each category.
About the Final Judges:
Martha Bolton has written over eighty books of humor and inspiration, including the popular Didn't My Skin Used to Fit and Cooking With Hot Flashes. She was a staff writer for Bob Hope for over fifteen years, and also wrote for numerous others including Phyllis Diller, Ann Jillian, John Davidson, and Mark Lowry. Most recently she helped write the New York Times bestselling Rick and Bubba books. Martha has received both an Emmy nomination and a Dove award nomination for her writing, as well as four Angel awards. Martha wrote the popular Cafeteria Lady column for Focus on the Family's BRIO magazine for more than a dozen years, and currently writes the Miss P.E. column for BRIO. Martha's work has appeared in numerous magazines including Reader's Digest, and various Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Martha also enjoys script writing and has written approximately twenty books of comedy sketches and monologues for church drama groups and schools.
After her first year at the Cincinnati Enquirer, Laura Pulfer was named Best Columnist in Ohio by both the Associated Press and the Society for Professional Journalists, who later elected her to their Hall of Fame. I Beg to Differ, an anthology of her columns and commentaries for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, was on the regional best-seller list for 13 weeks. Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist and Zits creator Jim Borgman says, "Laura writes at ground level where the rest of us live. Barbie’s slut shoes, diversity on the bus... Somehow, along the way, she covers everything that really matters." Novelist Stephen Birmingham called her second book, Mothers and Other Heroes "funny and wise and pointed and passionate." She lives now in Bellefontaine, Ohio, where she raises horses and directs a riding program for special needs children, the topic of her next book.
| 1st Place - Humor Category, Dayton Area: |
| Lisa Cairney of Dayton, Ohio Lisa Cairney is "a frustrated writer wannabe who spends most of her days caring for her four children, chasing her two dogs out of the garbage cans, and waiting for her husband to return from his one year deployment in Iraq." Read Lisa's Essay Judge Martha Bolton's Comments: "I chose 'Appreciating a Depreciating State of Things' as the First Place winner for the Dayton contest entries because of its very clever and original premise. When a writer goes beyond the obvious and comes up with a completely fresh idea, the writing literally jumps off the page. The way this writer compared her body to real estate was a very funny slant, and one that was rich with angles for good comedy. This writer didn't let us down, but took advantage of all those angles, carrying the idea and the humor all the way through to the end. It read like something Erma would have written herself. Well done!" |
| 1st Place - Humor Category, Global: |
| Leah Rubin of Wildwood, Missouri Leah Rubin is "a humorist (just kidding) and sometime writer and poet who lives with her longish-suffering husband in suburban St. Louis." Read Leah's Essay Judge Martha Bolton's Comments: "I selected 'Legacy' as the First Place winner because it was well written, funny, and it sounded like Erma could have written it herself. The humor doesn't feel forced, it moves the story along nicely, and it rings true. Good job!" |
| 1st Place - Human Interest Category, Dayton Area: |
| Elizabeth Wissler of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio Elizabeth Wissler is "an Air Force wife who was fortunate enough to have taught English as a Second Language to immigrants in a volunteer capacity while living in Alabama. She has spent her life moving and trying to find her place wherever she was living. It was a joy for her to be able to help these hard-working people as they struggled to assimilate." Read Elizabeth's Essay Judge Laura Pulfer's Comments: "Spare and beautifully drawn portrait of Flavio – every word precise and vivid. The writer takes us to the classroom and delivers a lesson without preaching or sanctimony." |
| 1st Place - Human Interest Category, Global: |
| Toni Giarnese of New Hartford, Connecticut Toni Giarnese "lives with her sweetheart of thirty-seven years in a Connecticut hill town, far from her humble Italian roots. She went to school every year of her life. As both student and teacher, she was equally challenged, terrified and humbled. Of late, however, she coaxes blooms from her flowers, tinkers with kitchen gadgets and socializes in sweaty gyms. Recently she took a class with some guy named Lary Bloom. Now she is a writer. Currently she is working on her next author bio." Read Toni's Essay Judge Laura Pulfer's Comments: "This writer has the ability to freeze a moment in time, then warm it up with indelible pictures – 'comic blue veins dancing across her hands' – and serve it up fresh." |
| Honorable Mentions: |
| Humor Category, Dayton Area: E. McNealy Arnold of Centerville, Ohio - Read E. McNealy's Essay Dave Hoskins of Dayton, Ohio - Read Dave's Essay Humor Category, Global: Lorri Carpenter of Ocala, Florida - Read Lorri's Essay Andrea Harris of West Milton, Ohio - Read Andrea's Essay Chad Hatfield of Selah, Washington - Read Chad's Essay Tony Hayward of Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Read Tony's Essay Bridget Heos of Kansas City, Missouri - Read Bridget's Essay Linda M. Johnson of Urbana, Ohio - Read Linda's Essay Denise Sevier-Fries of Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada - Read Denise's Essay Patsy Zettler of St. Charles, Missouri - Read Patsy's Essay Human Interest Category, Dayton Area: Ashley German of Centerville, Ohio - Read Ashley's Essay Donna Hrkman of Dayton, Ohio - Read Donna's Essay Human Interest Category, Global: Linda Kneen of Canfield, Ohio - Read Linda's Essay Kristy Locklin of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Read Kristy's Essay Ronda McDonald of Neptune Beach, Florida - Read Ronda's Essay Frances Peacock of Indianapolis, Indiana - Read Frances' Essay Dave Worster of Hilliard, Ohio - Read Dave's Essay |