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ERMA BOMBECK WRITERS' WORKSHOP NEWSLETTER
University of Dayton
January 2006
mailto:erma@udayton.edu
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Dear writer:
New year. New contests.
The 2005 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition is open until Jan. 22, 2006. In honor of the competition’s 10th anniversary, each of the four first-place winners will also receive a complimentary registration for the sold-out Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, held March 23-25 at the University of Dayton.
Keep writing!
Tim Bete
Latest news...
BARRY WON'T RESUME WEEKLY HUMOR COLUMN
An Editor & Publisher interview with Dave Barry discusses his decision to stop writing his weekly newspaper column. He also reveals why he's speaking at the 2006 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop: "Guilt, for one thing." Read more.
PERFECT PITCH: AN INTERVIEW WITH KATHARINE SANDS
Katharine Sands, a literary agent in New York City, recently wrote Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent's Eye. She will be a faculty member at the 2006 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. Read more.
PURSUING THE CREATIVE LIFE: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOEL EISENBERG
Filmmaker, entrepreneur, and author Joel Eisenberg has survived as a wage slave to become a professional writer. He shares his experiences, along with a long list of contributors, in the first volume of Aunt Bessie’s How to Survive a Day Job While Pursuing the Creative Life. Read more.
CAN YOU AFFORD TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK?
Sophronia Scott, former workshop faculty member, says "Once you are clear about what you want out of the publishing process, you can decide what route would be the most satisfying -- and profitable -- for you." Read more.
PAGE BACK IN DAYTON
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Clarence Page returns home to Dayton to headline two Martin Luther King, Jr. events Jan. 16-17. Read more.
EVERYTHING YOU WRITE HAS A MILLION USES
Danny Gallagher shares how a column became a theatrical production. Read more.
FOR RICHARD PRYOR, COMEDY WAS TRAGEDY
Miami Herald columnist and former workshop faculty member, Leonard Pitts Jr., writes "His comedy was shaped by his pain, fueled by his desperation, given life by his rage. It was authentic, it was naked, it was pure, it was unfailingly human." Read more.
HE WROTE THE BOOK ON COMEDY
Jim Mendrinos has penned The Complete Idiot's Guide to Comedy Writing. Read more.
SELL YOUR SCREENPLAY
An interview with script consultant Laurie Scheer provides insight on what producers are looking for and how to sell your screenplay to them. Read more.
A NEW LOOK AT PUBLISHING
The upstart publishing company Berrett-Koehler has come up with a new and more profitable approach to the business of publishing. Read more.
Humor writer of the month
LOUISE ESOLA
Louise Esola is a very serious journalist who spends her mornings shirking her duties and reading letters and e-mail from subscribers of the North County Times (San Diego), the paper that pays her to not shirk her duties as a very serious journalist. She write her weekly column, "Geez, Louise," for fun. Visit her Web site.
Emmis Books giveaway
Each month we give away a book on writing to a few subscribers to our newsletter. If you're subscribed, you're entered to win! This issue's winners are:
* Janet Salvage
* Thomas Carpenter
* Lauri Crumley Coates
Who's publishing what?
WORKSHOP FACULTY
COLUMN WRITING WORKBOOK: So You Want to be a Columnist by Deb DiSandro is a tool for anyone considering column writing for a living. It offers suggestions on marketing and syndicating your column.
OTHER PUBLISHING NEWS
HELP FINDING AN AGENT: Author 101: Bestselling Secrets from Top Agents is the second book in the Author 101 series. It reveals what makes a good agent, what a good agent will and won’t do for you, and how to find the right type of agent.
Markets, contests and more
WRITERS' CONFERENCE: The San Francisco Writers Conference takes place in February. Representatives from major publishing houses and many literary agents will be present. Read more.
ATTENTION WRITING MOMS: New online radio show for mom writers. The show features tips on writing and interviews with mom authors. Read more.
FORUM FOR STORY NEEDS: Need stories to flesh-out your book? Publishing Poynters Marketplace can help. Focus on a single topic and provide your contact information. Limit your listing to 100 words and send it to DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com. There is no charge for listings. See sample issue.
GET YOUR BOOK REVIEWED: If you want your book reviewed on Amazon.com and B&N.com, list it in Publishing Poynters Marketplace (no charge). You must be willing to send a book and promotional materials (review-book package) to readers of Publishing Poynters Marketplace who contact you. Send your request and description to DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com. Hundred-word maximum. Supply your email contact address. See sample issue.
HUMOR STUDIES: The International Society for Humor Studies will launch an e-newsletter beginning in 2006. Read more.
FREE BLOG SPACE: Would you like to blog? Are you a genre expert? Blogitorium.com will provide you with free space and a membership to BookPitch.com. Read more.
EDITORIAL MARKET: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is looking for opinion articles for their Perspectives pages and the Sunday Forum section. Published articles pay between $50 and $100. Read more.
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NETWORK WITH OTHER HUMOR WRITERS: Network with other humor writers. Join the e-mail discussion group for past attendees of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop and those who would like to attend in the future. Join now.
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SUGGEST A RESOURCE: If you have a favorite book or Web site, let us know at bete@udayton.edu.
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Copyright 2006, University of Dayton
