Washington Centerville Public Library - Erma Bombeck Writing Competition

Meet our esteemed panel of judges include authors, syndicated columnists, and experienced writers.

FINALIST JUDGES

Jason Love
Jason Love has done standup all over America, including the Improv; Laugh Factory; Comedy Store; Atlanta Punchline; Zanies in Nashville; Comic Strip in Edmonton; Bananas in NY; and many more. He has perfomed for colleges and universities; cruises; overseas for our troops; and for entities like Coca-Cola, True Religion, Farmers Insurance, Disneyland, MTV, General Motors, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Relay for Life, Boys and Girls, Kiwanis, AA, and countless others. Recent credits include The Bob and Tom Show, HBO's "Luck" starring Dustin Hoffman, Sirius XM, Rooftop Comedy, "Today's Riff" on TBS, lead male in the indie film "Love Aplenty," two national commercials, and tons of radio. Jason's one-liners appear in numerous book collections (e.g., Comedy Thesaurus) and are published regularly by Reader's Digest. Jason syndicates his daily cartoon Snapshots; to millions of readers in print, Internet, and mobile media. Credits include The Denver Post, St. Petersburg Times, Arizona Republic, and dozens of books. Jason's humor column, "So It Goes," has run in over 50 publications, including The Ventura County Star, Frontier Airlines' in-flight, Toastmaster International, and Funny Times. The column won an award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Jason's book, So it goes : stories for people who laugh, is based on his stand-up comedy and his humor column.
Website: http://www.jasonlove.com/

Martha Moody
Martha Moody was born and raised in Ohio. She graduated from Oberlin College and received her MD from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she also completed her residency training in internal medicine. She went on to spend 15 years in private practice. Her life-long love of reading and writing crystallized when she read Mario Vargas Llosa's Conversation in the Cathedral. Martha credits that book with the inspiration to try writing fiction. After publishing her first novel, Best Friends, she retired from private practice. Since then she has written two more books, The Office of Desire and Sometimes Mine. When Moody isn't writing she volunteers as medical director at a clinic for the working poor and as a writing teacher in the local public school system. Moody is also involved in a long-term project teaching English to elementary school students in the Arab village of Deir al Assad, Israel. She has been married since 1985 to Dr. Martin Jacobs; they have four teenage sons and live in Dayton, Ohio. In March, 2011, in acknowledgement of her philanthropy, Moody was honored as a 2011 YWCA Woman of Influence.
Website: http://marthamoody.net/.

JUDGES

Rob Bloom Rob Bloom is a comedy writer, advertising copywriter, and BBQ enthusiast. He has written for the Cartoon Network, McSweeney's, The Onion, NPR, and the Travel Channel, among others. Recently, Rob won a nationwide screenwriting contest and had a script made into a short film. The film was produced by the Upright Citizens Brigade and shown with the trailers in more than 20,000 theaters across the country. Rob is also the writer of a regular humor column, which has been praised by the Erma Bombeck Writing Institute as well as by his parents who proudly display it on their refrigerator with magnets shaped like fruit. Follow Rob on Twitter! @robbloomcw. Website: RobBloom.com
Jennifer Brown Two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award (2005 & 2006), Jennifer's weekly humor column appeared in The Kansas City Star for over four years, until she gave it up to be a full-time young adult novelist. Jennifer's debut novel, Hate List received three starred reviews and was selected as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a VOYA "Perfect Ten," and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Hate List also won the Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award, was an honorable mention for the 2011 Arkansas Teen Book Award, is a YALSA 2012 Popular Paperback, received spots on the Texas Library Association's Taysha's high school reading list as well as the Missouri Library Association's Missouri Gateway Awards list, and has been nominated for the Oklahoma Sequoyah Award. Jennifer's second novel, Bitter End received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and VOYA and is listed on the YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list and is a 2012 Taysha's high school reading list pick as well. Jennifer writes and lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area, with her husband and three children.
Kelly Epperson Kelly Epperson is an author, speaker, and happiness coach. She started writing her weekly newspaper column in May 2001 and never tires of being likened to Erma Bombeck. Her column and her three books, (When Life Stinks, It's Time to Wash the Gym Clothes; 365 Days of Joy-How to Be Happy Every Single Day; and Joy Droppings, Evidence That Joy is Everywhere, Every Day For All of Us), propelled her into a speaking career which has evolved into happiness coaching and mentoring women on their own joy journeys. Kelly publishes a weekly "Live Your Joy" ezine that goes to readers all across the country and across the world, and is the creator of the JOY Beyond Your Dreams life mastery program, an online program where women learn how to take their reins of their own happiness and gain more confidence, clarity, and calm as well as more energy, more optimism, and more fun! Learning how to trust in oneself again and make decisions from that place of inner knowing is the essence of real and lasting happiness. Kelly is also the host of a JOY Cruise to Alaska this September! To learn how to live your personal joy, visit www.kellyepperson.com.
Bradford Evans Bradford Evans is a writer whose work has appeared on The Awl, Splitsider, and in MMA octagons across the country. He grew up in Orange County, California, where his adolescence was exactly like that of the teens on shows like The O.C. and Laguna Beach – only instead of making out on the beach all day, he spent his free time watching TV and refusing to go outdoors or to even acknowledge the outside world. Look, he isn't really a mixed martial artist. That was a joke. Please don't fight him, he's fragile.
Jenny Isenman Jenny Isenman is the author of famously astute stories like: "Are You Stupider After Having Kids - I’s Be Too" and "Sex or Oven Cleaning - That is the Question". She's also the creator of The Suburban Jungle and the niche site: I’m a Jewish Mom What's Your Excuse? As a lifestyle expert, she’s contributed segments to NBC locally and nationally as well as CBS, FOX, Momtourage and Nickelodeon’s ‘Parents Connect.’ If she could hold up a sign it would say: "Will Write for Shoes". She's the humor columnist for South Florida Parenting Magazine and also writes for multiple parenting sites including: iVillage, Momtourage, NewParent, Babble, SheKnows, HybridMom, CityParent and TheJewishTimes. She's been featured or mentioned in Redbook, InStyle, Latina, Seventeen, Daily Candy, and Good Housekeeping, who calls The Suburban Jungle - the best suburban blog out there. She has cellulite begging her to stop wearing short shorts, laugh lines screaming for Restylane, crows feet crying for Botox, and spends far too much money trying to look dewy. She would love to be your friend on Facebook and she’s pretty amusing on twitter... if she does say so herself. Her ultimate goal: To make life easier for women through laughter and tips, which will help them save time, money, face, and most importantly… SANITY! Oh, and to teach dolphins to read.
Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant Leigh Anne has been writing comedy for twenty years. In addition to 17 published books (Bedtime Stories for Dogs and Not Guilty by Reason of Menopause), she writes post-it notes ("Pardon me, do you have any money?"), aprons ("My other apron burned in the fire!"), magnets ("This is not Facebook and you are not my friend"), as well as stage plays, musicals, and regular columns for a number of publications. She won the 2003 Erma Bombeck Humor Writing award with her column on how her first mammogram caught on fire. She is also a stand-up comic, corporate comic, and stress management expert. Her mission, if she decides to accept it, is to help the world become healthier and more sane through laughter. Read more about Leigh Anne on her online Bio. Website: http://www.accidentalcomic.com/
Leighann Lord A New York City native who’s performed comedy worldwide, Leighann’s stand-up style is not urban; it’s urbane. At the fourth annual NYC Black Comedy Awards Leighann was voted "The Most Thought Provoking Black Female Comic" recognizing her as smart and funny. Leighann doesn’t dumb it down; in fact she steps it up. Inspired by the brilliance of George Carlin, the smooth jazz style of Franklyn Ajaye, and the elegance of Rita Rudner, Leighann has crafted her own unique brand of "Thinking Cap Comedy." Leighann has entertained audiences in England, Canada, The Netherlands, and Trinidad. In the Middle East she performed for U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia during Operation Enduring Freedom. Smart, sexy, savvy, and funny, Leighann’s heads up humor is stand-up comedy at its finest. She is often heard on XM’s and Sirius Satellite Radio’s comedy channels. She is also a staple in the FoxNews.com Strategy Room giving her informed, funny take on politics, world news and current events. Leighann has appeared on numerous stand-up comedy shows including Lifetime’s Girls Night Out, The Original HBO Def Comedy All Star Jam, ABC’s The View, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, The World Stands Up and Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen. Her popular weekly humor blog, The Urban Erma is featured on StageTimeMag.com and is available as a free podcast on iTunes. She wrote the pilot for The Chris Rock Show, and her website VeryFunnyLady.com, says it all! It’s not hard to see why Improper Magazine named Leighann one of New York’s 10 Hottest Comics.
Jenna McCarthy Jenna McCarthy is an internationally published writer, TED speaker, former radio personality and the author of five books including the recently-released If It Was Easy They’d Call the Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon: Living with and Loving the TV-Addicted, Sex-Obsessed, Not-so-handy Man You Married (Berkley Books, 2011). (Please note that it says the blah-blah-blah man you married, not the one she married. Her husband likes it when she points that out.) Her work has appeared in more than sixty magazines, on dozens of web sites and in several anthologies including the popular Chicken Soup series. Jenna likes it when you like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter (although she can be quite profane so you might want to keep the kids away). Find out how Jenna survived tanorexia and watch the hilarious trailer for her new book by visiting her website at http://jennamccarthy.com/.
Karyn McGovern Massachusetts native Karyn McGovern is a columnist for the Cape Cod Times and the mother of two boys with Asperger Syndrome. Her hobbies include blogging, laundry and developing/implementing behavior modification strategies. In her former life as a non-mother, she used to like reading, yoga and film. Currently living between New England and Old England, she is a tireless advocate for her children and a fierce proponent of naps. She hopes to wedge herself into her pre-baby jeans again sometime before the first baby goes to college.
Carole Moore The author of two books, The Last Place You'd Look and Angel's Laws of Blogging, Carole Moore has been a television news reporter, radio talk show host and writer for more than 20 years. In addition to several anthologies, her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, Skirt! and at Scholastic.com. You can learn more about her at www.carolemoore.com.
Bill O'Neill Bill O’Neill has written for the Cape Cod Times, the Boston Globe, the London Sunday Times, CMJ New Music Monthly, the Harvard Independent, the National Enquirer and a batch of other publications. He was the lifestyle editor at the Cape Cod Times for almost 10 years, and the paper’s pop-music columnist for 12 years. He won awards for his interviews with a mannequin keeper, Liza Minnelli and a guy who claims to be Elvis Presley Jr. http://www.facebook.com/billowrites billowrites.com
Susan Reinhardt Susan Reinhardt is the author of three books including Dishing with the Kitchen Virgin and Not Tonight Honey, Wait ‘Til I’m a Size 6, now in its 7th printing. Her newest novel, Chimes From a Cracked Southern Belle is due out in 2013. She is the mother of two precious children, ages 19 and 13, and enjoys anything related to water except snakes. Reinhardt is a community volunteer, a member of the PTA and the Read it or Not, Here We Come Book Club. She is a regular public speaker, having done a keynote address for the Erma Bombeck Writers Convention in Ohio last year. Reinhardt is available to speak to large corporations or small groups. Her topics are "Healing Through Humor," and "Out of the Darkness," which delves into her battles with depression and other illnesses. It is her mission to bring these issues out of the closet, to remove the stigma, and enlighten others so they may get help and find joy in their lives. She also does stand-up comedy, Sarah Palin impersonations and loves being a guest on radio shows, many national programs inviting her to join them. She is a syndicated columnist and has won dozens of awards. Website: http://www.susanreinhardt.com/
Ron Rollins Ron Rollins is associate editor for Cox Media Group Ohio, where he is in charge of the Ideas & Voices opinion pages for the Dayton Daily News and its three sister papers in southwest Ohio. He’s been with Cox since 1986 in a variety of writing and editing positions.
Mike Sacks Mike Sacks has worked at The Washington Post and currently works on the editorial staff of Vanity Fair magazine. He has written for The New Yorker, Time, Esquire, Vanity Fair, GQ, Radar, Believer, Vice, Women’s Health, Salon, Premiere, New York Observer, McSweeney’s, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cracked, MAD, and other publications. Sacks has published three humor books: And Here’s the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Humor Writers About Their Craft; SEX: Our Bodies, Our Junk; Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason. Sacks is the editor of the forthcoming Care to Make Love in That Gross Little Space Between Cars, with contributions from Patton Oswalt, Judd Apatow, Dave Eggers, Nick Hornby, Sam Lipsyte, George Saunders, Amy Sedaris, and others. Find out more about Mike on his Website at www.mikesacks.com/
Joel Schwartzberg An award-winning essayist, humorist, and screenwriter, Joel Schwartzberg is the author of The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad which was released in 2009 and won several awards in 2010. He was a Head Writer for Nickelodeon in 1998 and later an editorial director for Time Inc. Interactive. Joel's essays on parenting and other spontaneous phenomena have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, The Star Ledger, New Jersey Monthly, Babble.com, StepMom Magazine, The Good Men Project, Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Huffington Post, and regional parenting magazines throughout the U.S. and Canada. Learn more at his website: http://www.joelschwartzberg.net Website: http://www.joelschwartzberg.net
Sharon Short Sharon Short is the author of the forthcoming (Penguin Plume, 2013) novel, My One Square Inch of Alaska, in which a pair of siblings escape the strictures of the 1950s industrial Ohio town on the adventure of a lifetime. Opening chapters of this novel earned Sharon a 2011 Montgomery County (Ohio) Arts & Cultural District Literary Artist Fellowship and a 2012 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence award. Sharon has written a weekly humor and lifestyle column, Sanity Check, for the Dayton Daily News since 2002. Short has also published two mystery series; her short stories and essays have appeared in publications including Mock Turtle Zine, Orchard Press Online Mystery Magazine, and Murderous Intent Mystery Magazine. She is a literary reviewer for Mock Turtle Zine. Additionally, Short directs the renowned Antioch Writers' Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and is an adjust instructor of creative writing and composition at Antioch University Midwest. Sharon holds a B.A. in English from Wright State University and an M.A. in English from Bowling Green State University. She lives in Ohio with her husband and is the mother of two daughters, one in college and one a high school senior. Sharon's Books: Tie-Dyed and Dead, Past Pretense, Murder Unfolds, Hung Out to Die, Death of a Domestic Diva, and Death By Deep-Dish Pie.
Jen Singer Jen Singer is the creator of MommaSaid.net, a Forbes Best of the Web community for mothers, and the author of five books, including the Stop Second-Guessing Yourself guides to parenting and You’re a Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren’t So Bad Either). She has written for numerous media outlets, including American Baby, Good Housekeeping.com, Parenting and Parents. A cancer survivor, she is the founder of ParentingWithCancer.com. She lives in northern New Jersey with her two teen sons who are probably emptying the pantry right now.
Brian Thompson For almost 15 years, Brian Thompson has been writing the weekly humor column, "Life in a Nutshell," for The St. Augustine Record in Florida. The column has won Florida Press Club awards for commentary the past three years, including first place in 2011. You can read "Life in a Nutshell" online at www.nutshellcity.com. Thompson is a former journalist and editor, and has been a freelance writer for Scholastic’s Parent and Child Magazine, Folio Weekly, Jacksonville Magazine, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, Rosebud, and Delicious Magazine. He has also done radio commentary on Jacksonville's WJCT Public Radio. He works at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, where he edits Flagler Magazine, advises the student newspaper, and teaches opinion writing. He is the founder and past-president of the Florida College Press Association.
Jack Thompson Jack Thompson is a 30-year veteran of the news media, mostly as an editor. He worked in the sports department of the Chicago Tribune for many years and is currently with the Associated Press. Jack grew up in suburban Chicago and graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in communications.
Drake Witham Drake Witham says, "Don’t quit your day job. Get fired." If only he had followed his own advice when he followed his dream of stand-up comedy, he could’ve collected unemployment for a couple of months. Had he stayed on as reporter for the Dallas Morning News, his dead-on impressions of his editors or his sharp tongue probably would’ve got him canned soon enough. "Once I heard a boss say, ‘I’m just thinking out loud’ and I said ‘that’s called talking.’ I’m pretty sure he wanted to fire me…out loud." But Witham left on his own terms pursuing comedy in Los Angeles and has appeared at The Improv, The Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, Comedy Union, and San Gennaro, as well as venues throughout the US. Filmwork includes Batman and Super Precinct. Within two years of starting stand-up he won the prestigious Seattle International Comedy Competition. The ability to point out the inane with the attitude that none of us have to put up with it and a dead-pan delivery gets him work at clubs, corporate events, cruise ships, and private parties across the country and around the world. Clubs owners love his smart, clean material. Audiences love that he makes fun of himself. Pointing to his head he asks "does this strike anyone as a SUPERcut?" The industry has taken notice. The former journalist has become a regular on television. You also may have seen him on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham or on one of his several appearances on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He’s also appeared on Byron Allen’s comedy.tv and has performed for the troops in the Middle East and Europe. Witham’s not planning on quitting comedy anytime soon and at this rate he’s not likely to get fired.
Michele Wojciechowski A national award-winning freelance writer and humorist, Michele "Wojo" Wojciechowski writes the weekly humor column, Wojo’s World™. In addition, her writing has appeared in the LA Times Magazine, Family Circle, Boys’ Life, the BaltimoreSun.com, the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye.com, PT in Motion, Maryland Life, Baltimore magazine, and Baltimore’s Child, among many others. She writes and performs standup comedy, including at the 2010, 2008, and 2006 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshops. Check out www.wojosworld.com, Where life is always funny™.
Claire Zulkey Claire Zulkey is the author of A Off Year, published by Dutton in 2009 and selected by Indie Booksellers for the Autumn 2009 Kids' Indie Next List and nominated as one of the ALA’s 2010 Best Books for Young Adults. Since 2003 Claire has run the blog Zulkey.com, which is now produced by NPR affiliate WBEZ. She is a television critic and contributor to the Los Angeles Times and AV Club. She lives in Chicago where she runs the literary humor reading series Funny Ha-Ha.

Erma Bombeck Writing Competition - 2012 Judges