It felt like a rebirth.
As writers from near and far streamed into the Marriott hotel on a glorious fall afternoon, they spontaneously hugged one another. I heard squeals of recognition as newcomers swallowed their nerves and introduced themselves to those they “met” on the private attendee Facebook page or in the chat bar during our virtual programs.
The lobby buzzed with energy, excitement — and laughter. It was, in a word, exhilarating to be back together at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop after a four-year hiatus. This was our first in-person gathering since the pandemic halted big events and pushed us out of classrooms into Zoom rooms.
“Welcome home!” greeted emcee Leighann Lord on opening night. “We’re here to recreate the magic of our writers’ community.”
And we did.
“That ‘Erma magic,’ one attendee wrote in the post-workshop survey, “was back in full force. The joy was palpable.” Another observed, “There was an underlying feeling of positivity, joy, gratefulness and love throughout the whole event.”
It didn’t take long for first-time attendees and new faculty to catch the event’s quintessential spirit. John Branning, a humorist from Maine, described the workshop as “a summer camp for funny grown-ups.” Novelist and story coach Julie Cantrell called the gathering “a positive group of happy-hearted people who love to celebrate the power of story.” Added fellow faculty member and novelist Ann Garvin, “The conference reminded me that writing and humor connect us to our humanity.”
Hundreds of writers from 37 states (including Alaska) and two countries (Canada and Spain) took a leap of faith with us as we took tentative steps back into a world reshaped by COVID. More than 60 percent were first timers, which we believe is a new record. Writers ranged in age from 17 to 93 and included bloggers, authors, columnists, stand-up comics, a New York Times editor, a Hollywood actress, four Bombecks and five mother-daughter duos. Between the in-person and virtual package attendees, we welcomed more than 600 writers.
“I was very happy to see how ready to play everyone was,” said comedian and improviser Dion Flynn, who offered a lunch keynote talk and led an improv workshop. He urged writers to “say yes” to their art by confronting their fears and delving in.
“You don’t have to bring a whole cathedral to every moment,” said Flynn, best known for playing Barack Obama on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “Just bring a brick. You’ll eventually have a cathedral.”
Other presenters told stories of their own vulnerability to illuminate the larger point that persistence pays off.
“You don’t negotiate with yourself about brushing your teeth or paying your bills,” said keynoter and novelist Katrina Kittle. “I bet you usually honor your commitments to other people, too. Treat yourself equally well. Make your resolution to write your story a nonnegotiable commitment in your life. …Own your writing time and do not apologize for it.”
A decade after her last novel was published, Kittle received a contract for Morning in This Broken World, which will be released this summer. The lesson? “Never give up,” she said.
“You have a story to tell that no one else on earth can tell the same way you can,” she said. “The only way out of doubt and fear is through them; the only way out of a drought is telling your story one word after another.”
To laughter, “Cathy” cartoonist and essayist Cathy Guisewite confessed in her opening night keynote, “I was invited here to absolve you of any shame. “If you’re like me, you can’t get to paragraph 2.” In an inspiring, humorous talk, she urged hundreds of writers to “fling” their unrealized potential “into this weekend of possibilities.”
Writers did just that. Storyteller and singer-songwriter Kim Weitkamp, of Mount Vernon, Ohio, committed to writing her first book. Desiree Miller traveled from Atlanta to “find my funny” and left with lifelong bonds and a humorous book idea that she floated past a publisher. During her two-week stay as a winner of the workshop’s writing residency, Kristen Mulrooney, a satirist from the Boston area, wrote 75,000 words — the first draft of a humorous novel — in her hotel room.
“You must persist,” insisted keynoter Adriana Trigiani, a New York Times bestselling author of 20 books who led a fireside chat with authors and screenwriters W. Bruce Cameron and Cathryn Michon.
“You (all) have those magic star points in your lives. You didn’t come here to find them. You came here to recognize them. We want you to get to where you need to be.
“You were born,” she said, “with a destiny.”
Laraine Newman, original cast member of Saturday Night Live, closed the 2022 workshop the way it started — with the workshop’s rallying cry: “The message you take home is the one Erma heard, ‘You can write!’”