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ERMA BOMBECK WRITERS' WORKSHOP NEWSLETTER
University of Dayton
July 2005
mailto:erma@udayton.edu
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Dear writer:
I just got back from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) conference in Texas. Dave Lieber, conference chair and Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist, put together an incredible event. I saw many writers who attended the 2004 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop (EBWW). In fact, because the NSNC and EBWW have so much in common, the two groups have decided to become strategic partners in promoting each others events and contests.
The 2006 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop is coming along well. We'll begin to take registrations in Sept. for the March 23-25, 2006 workshop. Dave Barry will be one of the keynote speakers.
Keep writing!
Tim Bete
director, Erma Bombeck Writers'
Latest news...
NSNC CONFERENCE COVERAGE
DO WHAT YOU LOVE
The problem for most of us is that we want our dreams to unfold in a particular way. We believe that we can create our desired reality if only we spend enough time and work hard enough at it. In our own minds, what keeps us from the dream is our day job. Read more.
TAKE STOCK IN YOURSELF
A London-based pop singer is raising funds to kick-start his career by selling shares in himself on internet auction site eBay. In just three days, Shayan has raised £9,000 from buyers in London, New York and Toronto. Read more.
SELLING ADS IN YOUR BOOK
Author Michael T. Owens is holding an eBay auction for a full-page ad in his latest novel, A Dream Come True. The advertisement will appear in every book printed between Sept. 2005 (when the book is released) and March 2006. “Unlike major best-selling authors, I don’t have a multi-million dollar marketing budget!” Owens wrote in his auction listing. Read more.
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A COMIC NOVELLA
Gideon Defoe got sucked into a process that, despite the fact that it happens 125,000 times every year in Britain alone, remains one of the most glamorous and mythologized and -- even to those involved in it -- mysterious aspects of the contemporary culture industry. He had a book published. Oliver Burkeman follows the 18-month-long journey of one novel, from the author's flash of inspiration in a pub to the moment it hit the shelves. Read more.
WHO SAID HUMOR WRITERS AREN’T GOOD AT MATH?
Get out your calculators. Half a century of solemn advice about writing situation comedy for television has been condensed into a mathematical equation. Read more.
QUEST FOR BEST SELLER MEANS LOTS OF RETURNED BOOKS
With thoughts of scoring a blockbuster buzzing in their minds, publishers are shipping an ever-increasing number of books to stores. And stores are sending an ever-increasing number back. Read more.
HUMORIST STANDS TEST OF TIME
The work of Robert Benchley is as funny now as it was 80 years ago. Read more.
IT'S LIKE AMERICAN IDOL FOR COMICS
More than 7,000 New Yorker readers enter the magazine's Caption Contest each week. Read more.
KIRKLAND TO PRESENT HUMOR-WRITING SEMINAR
Former Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop faculty member Gordon Kirkland will be presenting “Writing Humor—Even on Days When You Don't Feel Funny,” at the Washington-Centerville Public Library in Centerville, Ohio on Saturday July 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Read more.
Humor writer of the month
ROB BLOOM
Humorist and cartoonist Rob Bloom says his writing is 3/4 funny, 2/3 thought-provoking, 1/2 interesting, and 1/4 geared to individuals who never learned to add fractions. His work has appeared in The Orlando Sentinel and The Toastmaster Magazine. He's also been featured as a commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. Visit his 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:
* Kat Lebo
* Caryl Zimmerman
* Chris Kemmer
Thanks to Emmis Books for providing the books for our giveaway!
Who's publishing what?
PAST WORKSHOP FACULTY
PAST WORKSHOP ATTENDEES
OTHER PUBLISHING NEWS
HELMS’ HUMOR ESSAYS WIN AWARDS: Dorothea Helms won the first ever Barbara Novak Award of Excellence for Humour and/or Personal Essay Writing by the Periodical Writers' Association of Canada for her work in The Globe and Mail. In June, she was also presented with an award for a humorous essay that tied for first place in the 3rd Annual Writing Contest sponsored by the Haliburton Highlands Writers' and Editors' Network and the Agnes Jamieson Gallery.
Markets, contests and more
SUBMISSIONS FOR RAT RACE RELAXER BOOKS: A new series is looking for inspiring stories about navigating the maze of life. Story topics should focus on one of the 52 categories listed in the Table of Contents. Submit your ideas to j.carey@att.net (no attachments please).
EXPOSURE FOR WRITERS: Schools throughout the country are constantly on the lookout for authors to visit and give presentations. The Web site provides a list of schools looking to book a guest author or illustrator.
EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CREATIVE NONFICTION: Creative nonfiction is a branch of writing that blends literary techniques usually associated with fiction or poetry to report on actual persons and events. Visit English professor Bruce Dobler’s Web site.
AUTHOR MANIA’S 2006 WRITING CONTEST: This year’s contest may have come to a close, but it’s not too early to start thinking about next year’s competition. Short stories on any topic are already being accepted. Read more.
BOOK CONNECTOR: BookConnector connects authors and publishers with people and resources that promote your manuscript. Read more.
BOOKPITCH.COM: Where proposals, manuscripts, products and services are acquired and sold and jobs are found 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.
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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 2005, University of Dayton
