For the past three years, the writing competition has been conducted by the Washington Centerville Public Library and Amos Suburban Newspapers. In addition to the writing competition, the conference will consist of a keynote address, writers' workshop, an academic symposium and the official transfer of Erma Bombeck's papers to the University. They will be honored again at a March 31 luncheon where Bombeck's papers will be presented to the University of Dayton. The writing competition is open to more aspiring writers than ever this year. Writers can also enter the competition online by accessing the official Web site .
Admission is free and open to the public.
The writers' workshop is scheduled for March 31, and the academic symposium will be held April 1. Scholars from around the country will present papers on popular American humor during the academic symposium on Saturday, April 1. A concluding panel will place Bombeck's work in historical perspective. Bombeck credited the University of Dayton with preparing her for life and work, for making her believe she could write. She graduated in 1949 with a degree in English and never forgot that she received encouragement as a writer at the University of Dayton.