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 October 29-31, 2020 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, Community Outreach Coordinator, at 937-610-4429 or send an email to: ddockins@wcpl.lib.oh.us.
December 2, 2019 (8 AM EST): Erma Bombeck Writing Competition Opens
December 12, 2019 (noon): U.D. Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Registration Opens
January 6, 2020 (8 AM EST): Erma Bombeck Writing Competition Closes
January 10, 2020 through mid-February: Erma Bombeck Writing Competition Judging
February 24, 2020: (projected) Winners Announced
October 8, 2020 (7 PM): Virtual Erma Awards Ceremony: Betsy Bombeck, Keynote Speaker
October 29-31, 2020: U.D. Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop (Virtual)
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.
UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON LAUNCHES HUMORIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Thanks to a generous gift from comic novelist and writer Anna Lefler, the University of Dayton’s Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop is offering two emerging humor writers the opportunity to dive into their comedy writing without pesky everyday responsibilities.
Winners announced November 12. The program is open to all humor writers regardless of gender or comedic point of view. Writers working on novels, narrative non-fiction, plays, essays, sitcom scripts and other humor writing are encouraged to apply, with special consideration given to emerging writers. Application fee is $25. Entries will be blind-judged by preliminary and finalist judges, all established writers.
Winners also will receive a free registration to the October 29-31, 2020, Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, dubbed the "Woodstock of Humor." Devoted to both humor and human interest writing, it’s so popular that it sells out within hours. The Marriott at the University of Dayton is an in-kind sponsor for the workshop and the residency.
For information, visit www.humorist-in-residence.com and www.humorwriters.org.