The Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop started in 2000 at the University of Dayton

University of Dayton

The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...

 as a one-time event to commemorate the Bombeck family's gift of Erma

Erma Bombeck

Erma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s...

's papers to the university. The event proved so popular that it has been held every other year since then (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) and is scheduled to be held in April 2010. The two-day, three-night workshop includes keynote speakers and breakout sessions on the topics of humor writing, human interest writing, the publishing process, marketing for authors, among other areas. Past keynote speakers have included Art Buchwald

Art Buchwald

Arthur Buchwald was an American humorist best known for his long-running column in The Washington Post, which in turn was carried as a syndicated column in many other newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary...

, Nancy Cartwright

Nancy Cartwright

Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...

, Dave Barry

Dave Barry

David "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...

, Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor

Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...

, Mike Peters, Bil Keane

Bil Keane

William Aloysius Keane , better known as Bil Keane, was an American cartoonist. He is most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus, which began its run in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia,...

, Phil Donahue

Phil Donahue

Phillip John "Phil" Donahue is an American media personality, writer, and film producer best known as the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, also known as Donahue, was the first to use a talk show format. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...

 and others. More than 300 writers from 40+ states attend each workshop, which is held on the University of Dayton campus.

The workshop was first created by Teri Rizvi and Bob Daley. Tim Bete

Tim Bete

Timothy P. Bete is an American author, copywriter and former newspaper columnist. Currently, he is president of Energized Copy & Design, a copywriting and marketing consulting company, and also communication director for St...

 directed the workshop from 2004 to 2008. Matt Dewald is the current workshop director.

In 2006, the workshop created the world's longest Mad Lib.http://www.urlwire.com/news/022406.html

The Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop is the only national workshop for humor writers.