Early life
On February 21, 1927
When was she born?
The Bombecks were told by doctors that having a child was improbable, so they adopted a girl.
Why did they adopt a girl?
Aaron Priest, a Doubleday representative, became Bombeck's agent.
Who became her representative?
Bombeck was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease.
What disease was Bombeck diagnosed with?
When and where did the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop start?
The Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop started in 2000 at the University of Dayton
Erma entered Emerson Junior High School in 1940
When did she join Junior High?
An American humorist
What did she do for a living?
The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank became a Best Seller.
What is the title of a book that became a best-seller?
She survived breast cancer and a mastectomy.
Did she survive breast cancer and a mastectomy?
The event proved so popular that it has been held every other year since then.
How often has the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop been held since its inception, and why?
By marring Bill Bombeck, a former fellow student of the University of Dayton she got the Bombeck lastname.
How did she get her last name?
Bombeck wrote over 4,000 newspaper columns.
How many newspaper columns did she write?
In ABC's Good Morning America she began doing brief commentaries and eventually did both gag segments and serious interviews.
How did her work on the show evolve over time?
She went public with her condition in 1993.
When did she go public with her condition?
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, and blogging, among other areas.
What are some of the topics covered during the two-day, three-night Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, including keynote speakers and breakout sessions?
Writing a humorous column for its newspaper, The Owl.
How did she beging her career?
Broad and sometimes eloquent humor, chronicling the ordinary life of a Midwestern suburban housewife. .
How would you characterize the humor used?
Bombeck was strongly criticized for this by conservative figures, and some U.S. stores reacted by removing her books.
What actions did some conservative figures take in response to Bombeck's work?
After she spent years on a waiting list for a transplant, one kidney had to be removed.
What was the consequence of spending years on a waiting list?
In 2004, University of Dayton alumnus Ralph Hamberg and his wife, Cindy, gave a $100,000 gift to start an endowment fund for the workshop.
Who gave a $100,000 gift to start an endowment fund for the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop in 2004, and what is their connection to the University of Dayton?
Because her English professor, Bro. Tom Price, commented to Erma about her great prospects as a writer
How was she encouraged to become a writer?
The ordinary life of a Midwestern suburban housewife.
What is the subject or focus of the chronicle being referred to?
Bombeck's three weekly columns were being published by 900 newspapers in the United States and Canada.
How many newspapers in the United States and Canada were publishing Bombeck's three weekly columns?
She died on April 22, 1996, aged 69, from complications of the kidney transplant.
What was the cause of Bombeck's death and how old was she when she died?
The workshop has spawned a blog, Humorwriters.org; a documentary produced by ThinkTV and distributed nationally through American Public Television.
What additional projects or endeavors have been developed as a result of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, including a blog and a nationally distributed documentary?