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By Renee Johnson

(Editor's Note: A longer version of this piece, with photos, can be found here.)

I learned about the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop from a writer friend who lives in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio. The first time I tried to reserve a spot, it was already sold out. Learning from this mistake, I marked the date of its next rollout and jumped on it early enough to ensure my attendance in 2024. Although I did not know any other attendees, I joined the Facebook group created for the group and engaged with the other members.

In the past, I had attended various workshops, retreats, and weekend seminars, not just about writing but for self-improvement and publishing. So, you can trust me when I say that the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop was the best and friendliest I’ve ever attended. Perhaps it is the concept of humor that underscores the event. Erma’s columns always had the element of the humorous, the unexpected, the zinger. Nobody took themselves too seriously.

I met attendees in the hotel elevator and lobby before the event began, and we launched into a discovery process of each other’s talents and Dayton’s sacred institutions, such as The Pine Club — a supper club famous for its steak—and Esther Price Chocolate, which is celebrating its 100th year of making fine candies in Dayton.

Once we passed through registration and received our name tags and schedules, a reception brought us together with even more talented writers and stand-up comedians. The bookstore opened, and the opening dinner in the ballroom of the Mariott kicked off the event with Anna Quindlen in conversation with Marsha Bonhart. While we dined on chicken and cheesecake, Leighann Lord, the fabulous emcee who dressed to the nines every night and reminded me of one of the glamour girls of the 1920s, seamlessly made introductions and recapped quotables from the interviews.

We did not have to worry about transportation or where to dine. The shuttle bus arrived and departed on time. Three dinners, two lunches, two breakfasts, and plenty of snacks, coffee, and water were always ready as scheduled. Those with special dietary needs had cards or lunches with their names attached and had been preplanned.

The workshops—so many to choose from that I spent a long portion of the opening night deciding which to attend because I wanted to attend more than time allowed — started and ended on time. A moderator was in each room making introductions and keeping time, holding up signs when only ten minutes remained, then five minutes. Most of the instructors made pdf downloadable files available. Easy. Convenient. Quality instructors — Jane Friedman, Jane Condon, Tiffany Yates Martin, Estelle Erasmus, and Ann Garvin — for example, added to the feeling that this was a valuable investment in our writing lives.

Oh, and the keynote speakers were divine. In addition to Anna Quindlen, we heard from Jacquelyn Mitchard, Barbara Fant, Zibby Owens, Beth Lapides, and Wade Rouse aka Viola Shipman.

I commented several times that I found this workshop to be the most efficiently run, full of surprises, and packed with value. The other attendees and I discussed that it should be longer. We needed more time. On the final day, when we visited the Roesch Library and the display room of Erma Bombeck’s columns, typewriter, and awards, I reached a valuable conclusion. The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop is structured like an Erma Bombeck column — short, tight and impressionable.

—Renee Johnson

Renee Canter Johnson was born in North Carolina, where she still resides. She holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Gardner Webb University. Johnson studied creative writing in France and Italy, was awarded two terms at Noepe Center for Literary Arts on Martha's Vineyard, and completed a novel intensive study at the University of Iowa. She loves spending time with her family and fur babies, and when she is not with them, you will find her reading or writing.