Winners of 2020 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition announced
Washington-Centerville Public Library recently announced the winners of the 2020 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition.
In full disclosure, I was the finalist judge in the human interest category. (Bill Bryson served as the finalist judge in the humor category.) The essays were blind judged, so no judges from the first readers, to second readers to finalist, knew whose pieces they were reading.
It was an honor to serve as a finalist judge, though I admit it was also challenging. The entries I read were all poignant and insightful, so I read each one many times before reaching my decisions.
Per a press release from the Washington-Centerville Public Library, the four winning writers receive a free registration to the sold-out April 2-4 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, $1,000 and publication of their essays online and in the workshop’s program. Here’s who topped the field of 559 entries received from 10 countries, 48 states and the District of Columbia:
■ DeAnne Spicer Todd, Altadena, Calif. (humor, global)
■ Joan Harris, Huron (humor, local)
■ Kathy Shiels Tully, Melrose, Mass. (human interest, global)
■ Gwen Rosenberg, Kent (human interest, local)
Eight writers received honorable mentions, $100 and publication of their essays online:
■ Elaine Ambrose, Meridian, Idaho (humor, global)
■ Meredith Besser, Los Angeles, Calif. (humor, global)
■ Tara Powers, Stuart, Fla. (humor, global)
■ Susan Konig, Bronx, N.Y., (human interest, global)
■ Robb Lightfoot, Chico, Calif. (human interest, global)
■ Barbara David, Cincinnati (humor, local)
■ Tami Himmelfarb Wolf, Beachwood (humor, local)
■ Becky Koop, Dayton (human interest, local)
“I received a great deal of comments from the judges about the quality of the essays this year — how good they were and funny! Repeatedly they told me what a pleasure it had been to be a judge. That was very heartening to me,” said Debe Dockins, who coordinates the biennial contest for the Washington-Centerville
Public Library in affiliation with the workshop.
On Wednesday, April 1, at 7 p.m., Betsy Bombeck will speak about growing up as the daughter of Erma and Bill Bombeck during the Celebration and Awards Ceremony for the writing competition winners. The recipients will read their essays. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required to ensure adequate seating.
Visit www.wclibrary. info/erma/ for more information about this event and to register to attend, as well as to learn more about the competition.
Upcoming literary events
■ Sunday, March 8, 2-3:30 p.m., Books & Co. at The Greene — Antioch Writers’ Workshop presents a free workshop on what editors do, as well as tips on working with an editor and editing your own work, led by freelance editor April Bennett. Learn more about Bennett at her website, theeditingsoprano.com.
■ Wednesday, March 9, 1-3 p.m., WashingtonCenterville Public Library (Centerville location — 111 Spring Valley Road, Centerville) — For the 2nd Monday Authors program, Rita Coleman, Dayton poet, will be present to discuss her collections of poetry, “And Yet” and
“Mystic Connections.”
■ Tuesday, March 12, 7-8 p.m., Washington-Centerville Public Library (Woodbourne location — 6060 Far Hills Ave., Centerville) — Romance author April Wilson will present a Romance writing workshop, “Swept Away.”
■ Saturday, March 14, 9:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m., Sinclair Community College, Building 7, Library Loggia — The Eighth Annual Jack Bennett Young Writers’ Workshop, open at no cost to Dayton-area young writers in grades 6-12, will kick off with registration at 9:30, followed by a keynote by local poet and arts leader Sierra Leone, and breakout sessions led by a variety of local writers in fiction, poetry, comics and career writing. The sessions will be followed by lunch and open mic from noon-1:30 p.m. Learn more about the workshop at www.sinclair. edu.
■ Saturday, March 14, 1: p.m., Books & Co. at the Greene — Local author Nancy Brown Diggs will introduce her new book, “In Search of Appalachia.”
Sharon Short writes historical mysteries under the pen name Jess Montgomery (www. jessmontgomeryauthor. com). Send her column ideas, book club news, or literary events at sharonshort1983@ gmail.com.
Vick Mickunas
Readers who enjoy crime fiction can identify writers they like and continue reading additional novels in each series as they are released. I’m a hard-core crime novel fan; I follow several dozen writers, so I almost always have something new to read from a series I appreciate.
Here are a couple of my recent favorites.
“The Wild One” by Nick Petrie (Putnam, 400 pages, $26)
Book number five in the Peter Ash series, “A Wild One,” is a wild one indeed. Nick Petrie’s protagonist Peter Ash elicits frequent comparisons with Lee Child’s iconic crime warrior, Jack Reacher. Lee Child himself has said that “lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Peter Ash is the real deal.”
Like Reacher, Ash is a military veteran — but he’s suffered lots of psychological damage. For the first several books in this series Ash could hardly go inside a building without breaking into an agitated state. In this new book he keeps flashing back to a horrifying experience he had while manning a roadblock in Iraq.
“The Wild One” is set mostly in Iceland. As the story starts a woman in Washington, D.C., is discovering disturbing material that could implicate influential people. The next thing we know, she’s dead and her husband and their young son have fled to Iceland.
Peter Ash is hired to find the fugitives. He has no clue what he’s getting into. If you enjoy a book that is jammed with lots of action, intrigue, and suspense, then you’ll probably dig “The Wild One.”
“Long Range” by C.J. Box (Putnam, 368 pages, $28)
The meaning of the title of the latest Joe Pickett novel by C.J. Box becomes rapidly evident. As this 20th book in the series opens we follow the flight trajectory of a bullet in slow motion as it travels a great distance. That bullet’s intended target, a judge who has many enemies, bends over just at the moment the shot pierces the window. It hits his wife instead.
As this happens, Joe Pickett, a Wyoming state
Book Nook
game warden, is some distance away helping to track a grizzly bear that attacked a hunting guide. When Pickett hears about the shooting he turns back to see if he can assist with the investigation.
The new county sheriff doesn’t want Pickett’s help. He prohibits Joe from having any part in the investigation. Of course that doesn’t deter our crime-fighting game warden and the urgency he feels increases when one of his closest associates becomes the leading suspect.
The Sinaloa drug cartel might be involved. At the end of the last book there was a big shootout — the bullet that lofted across the first chapter could be a bit of revenge from that previous incident. In this story Box demonstrates how technology has made it possible for almost anyone with the proper equipment to become a lethal, long-range sniper.
Joe Pickett’s thoroughly dreaded mother-in-law makes another appearance, but this time she actually helps solve the case. Amazing.
Vick Mickunas of Yellow Springs interviews authors every Saturday at 7 a.m. and on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, visit www. wyso.org/programs/booknook. Contact him at vick@ vickmickunas.com.