Two selected for Bombeck HumoristIn-Residence program
Samantha Schoech, a writer, copywriter and editor from San Francisco, says her “go-to fantasy” is a “long, relaxed stay in a hotel and a Do Not Disturb sign.”
Karen Chee, a recent Harvard University graduate now working as a comedy writer and performer in New York, envisions Dayton as an “idyllic place for me and my writing” because it lacks “frantic, stressful distractions.”
They are the inaugural winners of “A Hotel Room of One’s Own: The Erma Bombeck | Anna Lefler Humoristin-Residence Program” that drew applications from 401 hopeful writers in 44 states, the District of Columbia and five other countries.
As part of the package, Chee and Schoech will be flown as guests to the University of Dayton’s Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, which runs April 5-7, 2018. At the close of the workshop, they will remain at the Marriott at the University of Dayton for another two weeks to work on their proposed books of humorous essays.
More than 50 preliminary judges, all established writers, narrowed the field to 10 finalists. Comedy legends Alan Zweibel and Laraine Newman, original writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live, reviewed those applications before selecting Chee and Schoech for the residency. All entries were blind judged.
Schoech is working on a collection of humorous essays, “People Really Like Me,” described as “the story of a middle-aged feminist bumbling through a middleclass adulthood filled with