2004 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Faculty
There are now more than 1.4 million copies of Jill Conner Browne's Sweet Potato Queens' books in print: the #1 New York Times bestseller The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner) (Three Rivers Press, 2003), God Save the Sweet Potato Queens (Three Rivers Press, 2001), and the book that started it all, The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love (Three Rivers Press, 1999). Through her Website, Jill has initiated more than 2,700 Sweet Potato Queen Wannabe chapters in 14 countries around the world. A sitcom pilot based on the adventures of Jill and the Queens, starring Delta Burke, is in development with Warner Bros. and there are rumors of Jill's own daytime television talk show. 
Syndicated humor columnist, W. Bruce Cameron, won first-place in the 2003 National Society of Newspaper Columnists humor writing competition. He is the author of the best-selling 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, which has been turned into a television sitcom starring the late John Ritter. Cameron's latest book, How to Remodel a Man, focuses on men, which he describes as "a far greater problem than teens" and "a much more disturbing issue." He says he's an expert on the subject: "I've lived among them, I can speak their language, some of my best friends are men."
USA Today columnist Craig Wilson writes his "The Final Word" column to address topics and ideas most people find "too mundane to muse upon, but to which they can all relate." He is the author of It's the Little Things: An Appreciation of Life's Simple Pleasures.
An Emmy award-winning writer-producer, Karyl Miller was the executive story consultant for the "Maggie" sitcom, a video presentation of Erma Bombeck's humorous view of life. Miller's career highlights include "The Cosby Show," "My sister Sam," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Lily Tomlin." She has written sitcom pilots for NBC, ABC, CBS, Norman Lear and others.
Jeff Herman is the founder of The Jeff Herman Literary Agency and author of the Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents. One of the most innovative agents in the book business, he represents more than 100 writers and has sold more than 450 titles in the United States and Internationally. Herman co-authored Write the Perfect Book Proposal with his wife, Deborah Levine Herman.
The voice of Bart Simpson, Nancy Cartwright is also the author of
My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy, a best seller filled with humorous anecdotes about her adventurous journey as an entertainer and voice-actor. Her achievements as an actor include dozens of credits in television, film and theater. In 1992 she received an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. Last March, Nancy and the cast of "The Simpsons" rolled out the "yellow carpet" at Santa Monica airport for the exciting celebration of the longest running primetime series in history. Having been awarded 18 Emmys, the series is scheduled to run through its 16th season in 2005.
After graduating from the University of Dayton, Don Novello worked as an advertising copywriter in New York, then joined a San Francisco comedy troupe ("The Chicken Little Comedy Hour") in 1972. He worked as a writer and actor for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" (CBS, 1975) and "Van Dyke and Company" (NBC, 1976), before joining "Saturday Night Live" in 1978, playing his first Father Guido Sarducci sketch on crutches (he'd broken his hip rehearsing a hockey sketch). Novello is the author of The Lazlo Letters: The Amazing, Real-Life, Actual Correspondence of Lazlo Toth, American (1992) and From Bush to Bush : The Lazlo Toth Letters (2003).
Patricia Wynn Brown is a writer and performer. Her book/journal is called MOMMA CULPA. Her performance pieces are titled, “HAIR THEATER,” and “LAUNCING BOY WONDER.” Pat’s work with The Hair Theater Fund provides women and girls, in need, with wigs and hats. She was a newspaper columnist for 10 years and her writing has appeared in humor anthologies. Her own hair continues to defy her to this day. She is also a three-time winner of the James Thurber "My Life and Hard Times" writing contest. She received rave reviews for her presentation at the 2002 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop.
Katie Brogan is the editor of Writer’s Market and Writer’s Market Online, as well as the co-editor of WritersMarket.com, the subscription-based counterpart of Writer’s Market. Prior to this position, Katie was the associate editor of Writer’s Digest magazine, and the executive editor of Publishing Success, a special interest publication focusing on self-publishing and electronic-publishing. Katie is a graduate of the University of Dayton with a degree in English and concentrations in English literature, journalism, and women’s studies. She is an accomplished speaker and also a published freelance writer whose nonfiction has appeared in Cincinnati Women Magazine, Writer’s Digest magazine, Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, and The Complete Handbook for Novel Writers.
Sue Roush is managing editor and assistant vice president of Universal Press Syndicate.
Tony Cochran is the comic genius behind the nationally syndicated
Agnes comic strip. He has been drawing for as long as he can remember -- woolly mammoths in tar pits on the cardboards that came with his father's laundered shirts, a mother woodtick dressed in "a fine, purple dress with dots of blue" during his kindergarten days and makeshift sea cow tattoos on the arms of third-grade buddies during lunchtime.
Deb DiSandro is a syndicated columnist, professional speaker, radio personality, creative writing instructor and author of Tales of a Slightly Off Supermom. For the past seven years, she has presented writers' workshops at various colleges throughout the midwest.
Gordon Kirkland's syndicated column, Gordon Kirkland At Large, first appeared in print in 1994. His column is now a regular feature in a growing number of Canadian and American newspapers. Kirkland's first book, Justice Is Blind -- And Her Dog Just Peed In My Cornflakes, was awarded the Stephen Leacock Award of Merit For Humor in 2000. His second book, Never Stand Behind A Loaded Horse, will be published in early 2004.
Mary McCarty is an award-winning metro columnist for the Dayton Daily News. She was named the 1999 Best Columnist in Ohio by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. McCarty was the 1996 Cox Newspapers' Writer of the Year and was awarded the HL Mencken award for work at the Cincinnati magazine, where she worked for nine years, first as a staff writer and later as senior editor.
Steve O'Keefe, 20-year book publishing veteran and founder and executive director of Patron Saint Productions, a New Orleans-based book publisher whose mission is to commemorate the heroes who have gone before, and to train and prepare the heroes yet to come. O'Keefe is the author of Complete Guide to Internet Publicity (Wiley 2002) and has launched online marketing campaigns for over 1,000 books and dozens of publishers. He teaches Internet Publicity and Public Relations at Tulane University College.
Executive editor of Florida Today, Terry Eberle is a graduate of the University of Dayton. He has worked in the newspaper business for more than 30 years and is former executive editor and vice president of the Indianapolis Star.
Ron Rollins is assistant managing editor for features at the Dayton Daily News.
Allan Walton, a graduate of the University of Dayton, is assistant managing editor for features at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Thom Fladung is the managing editor at the Detroit Free Press.
Kevin Williams is executive editor of Oasis Newsfeatures, a small syndicate that represents Debbie Farmer's Family Daze humor column, among other properties. Kevin founded Oasis Newsfeatures more than 12 years ago and sells niche features (e.g., The Amish Cook, The Kitchen Scientist, Debbie Farmer's Family Daze humor column) to more than 120 newspapers.
Laura Pulfer is an award-winning former columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Pulfer is also a commentator for National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and a contributing editor for Rosie Magazine. In May 1999, she was inducted into the Cincinnati Journalism Hall of Fame by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Dan Zevin is a humorist who has written three really funny books, The Day I Turned Uncool: Confessions of a Reluctant Grownup; The Nearly-wed Handbook: How To Survive the Happiest Day of Your Life; and Entry-Level Life: A Complete Guide to Masquerading as a Member of the Real World. He has also written for magazines including Rolling Stone and Details and has been a humor columnist for the Boston Phoenix and Boston Magazine. Zevin teaches journalism at New York Univerisity.
Steve Kissing is a contributing editor with Cincinnati Magazine. In 2003, he published his memoir, Running from the Devil (Crossroad/New York). It’s a funny, poignant story that details his coming of age during the 1970’s. Publishers Weekly called the book “hilarious, sad and fully absorbing.” The book was reviewed or reported on in various publications and programs, including Diane Rehm’s nationally syndicated radio show. When not penning magazine articles and books, Kissing works as an advertising copywriter. His ad work has won multiple local, regional and national awards.
Dr. Mark Shatz has extensive international and national experience as an educator and speaker addressing a wide variety of topics, such as motivation, psychology, and thanatology. Professor Shatz also teaches a nationally recognized humor writing course that includes an infamous final exam – a performance before a live audience. His writing background includes scholarly papers on the effectiveness of humor as an instructional strategy, various columns as “The Golf Shrink,” and KISSing Golf: The Keep it Simple (Stupid) Instructional Method.
Robert “Mack” McCormack is president of 1stBooks, one of the nation's biggest print-on-demand publishers. McCormack plays a central role in running the company’s day-to-day operations and is also responsible for setting strategic vision for the organization. In December 2002, 1stBooks reached a significant milestone with the printing of its 1,000,000th book and payment of more than $2 million in royalties to its authors. 1stBooks recently announced that, as of October 2003, its family of authors had grown to more than 16,000 and its library of published titles exceeded 18,500.
Sophfronia Scott graduated from Harvard in 1988 andwent to work for Time Magazine where, in early 1990, she and colleague David Gross conceived a cover story that came to be known as “Twentysomething”. They became the magazine’s youngest cover story writers and in the process sparked a worldwide social examination of the phenomenon then known as Generation X. In 1995 Sophfronia moved on to People Magazine where she immediately began organizing the constellation of celebrity. She wrote about the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney and John F. Kennedy Jr. for the ever-popular special issues: The 50 Most Beautiful People, Sexiest Man Alive and The 25 Most Intriguing People. Then in 2000 she started separating the fashion icons from the fashion victims as People’s StyleWatch editor. She also represented the magazine in numerous television appearances on CNN, “Entertainment Tonight” and E! The Entertainment Network. Recently Sophfronia served as senior entertainment editor for Teen People, but she left that post in January 2003 to focus on writing and her work as a career and personal development coach for her own company, Creative Coaching Plans. Her first novel, All I Need to Get By is being published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2004. She’s happily at work on her second novel, tentatively titled A Family of Widows.
A resident of the Midwest, Shirley Jump is married and has two children, two cats, a dog and more fish than one person can count. She spends her days writing romantic comedies for Silhouette Romance (The Bachelor’s Dare, December 2003) and for Kensington Books (The Bride Wore Chocolate, 2004). In her spare time, she writes articles and is the author of How to Publish Your Articles (Square One Writer’s Guide Series; also available from Writer’s Digest Book Club and Forbes Book Club). Visit her websites at www.shirleyjump.com and www.shirleykawa-jump.com.
Tom Anderson was executive producer and writer for the hit sitcom, Cheers. He has also written for Living Single and Newhart. Anderson is the creator of The Jeff Foxworthy Show.
Matt Bombeck is a screenwriter who focuses on made-for-television movies. He's had projects developed at CBS and ABC and produced at NBC. Bombeck, who is Erma's son, won the Writers Guild of America award for long-form television in 1994. He is currently in development on an independent feature film.
Kristin Godsey, editor of Writer's Digest magazine, has worked both sides of the magazine table, as a freelance writer and as a staffer in just about every editorial position there is. She's been a reporter, writer and/or editor for trade magazines and consumer publications alike, ranging from Water Well Journal and Bank Investment Representative to Good Housekeeping, Glamour and Fortune. She also braved the dot-com world as deputy online editor for ClubMom.com, and top-edited the book The Consumer Reports' Guide to Baby Products.
Jodie Lynn is an internationally syndicated family/parenting columnist, author of three books on parenting and contributor to two (one was plugged on The Oprah Show in 2003). Her column was syndicated by Knight Ridder/Tribune before she decided to self-syndicate. In addition to her Parent to Parent newspaper column, she currently writes for several parenting publications and works with many Web sites including PBSKidsTV. Her work has appeared in several magazines. Her latest book, Mommy-CEO, revised edition, is a family/parenting book... and is not just for moms!
