2014 Bombeck Workshop faculty: Lisa Scottoline | Erma Bombeck Writers´ Workshop

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2014 Bombeck Workshop faculty: Lisa Scottoline

When bestselling author Lisa Scottoline launched a column in The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2007 as a sideline to her bestselling mysteries and suspense novels, she said she wanted to try to fill in the gap left by Erma Bombeck. Today, the popular “Chick Wit” column, written with her daughter Francesca Serritella, offers a witty and fun take on life from a woman’s perspective, which Kirkus has described as “Erma Bombeck for mothers and daughters, with a zesty Italian twist.” These stories, along with many other never-before-published stories, have been collected in four books including their most recent, Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim, and the earlier, Best Friends, Occasional Enemies; Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, which has been optioned for TV; and My Nest Isn’t Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space. In her other life, Ms. Scottoline is the New York Times‘ bestselling author and Edgar award-winning prolific author of 21 novels, including the popular Rosato & Associates series and her latest, Accused. She has more than 30 million copies of her books in print and is published in more than 35 countries.

Reflections of Erma

Humor writer of the month

Ritch Shydner

Ritch Shydner, author of the newly released Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life as a Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom, has been described as “an incredibly funny observational comedian.” He has made numerous guest appearances on late-night TV as a comic. He also played Al Bundy’s co-worker on Married with Children and appeared in Designing Women, Roseanne and feature films such as Beverly Hills Cop II. He has written for Roseanne, The Jeff Foxworthy Show and HBO’s The Mind of the Married Man. This is his second book. In 2006, he compiled stories of comedians on the road for I Killed, which he co-wrote with Mark Schiff.

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Who's publishing what?

Unbucket list

Fighting midlife inertia, Sherry Stanfa-Stanley stares down a year of fear through what she calls The 52/52 Project. Her exploits range from visiting a nude beach with her 75-year-old mother to going on a raid with a vice squad and SWAT team to crashing a wedding — where she accidentally catches the bouquet. While finding her courage in the most unlikely of circumstances, Sherry ultimately finds herself. For midlifers, fatigued parents and anyone who may be discontent with their life and looking to shake things up, try new things, or just escape, Finding My Badass Self is proof it’s never too late to reinvent yourself — and that the best bucket list of all may be an unbucket list.

SAD!

From humorist/storyteller Dylan Brody comes the opposite of a self-help book. The Modern Depression Guidebook promises to help readers get the deepest possible lows and experience the darkest possible blues in a joyous and darkly funny exploration of life’s inherent sadness.

Stinker

Mike Sacks’ newest book, Stinker Lets Loose!, is described as “the outrageous 1977 filmatic smash in book form.” A former writer for The Washington Post, he’s currently part of the editorial staff of Vanity Fair magazine. He has written for The New Yorker, Time, Esquire, Vanity Fair, GQ, Radar, Believer, Vice, Women’s Health, Salon, Premiere, New York Observer, McSweeney’s, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cracked, MAD and other publications. In addition, he has published four humor books: And Here’s the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Humor Writers About Their Craft (F+W Press); SEX: Our Bodies, Our Junk (Random House); Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason (Tin House) and Poking a Dead Frog: More Conversations with Humor Writers (Viking/Penguin.) The book is a sequel to And Here’s the Kicker. His podcast, Doin It With Mike Sacks, can be found on Itunes.

Of mice and me

Omaha humorist Michael B. Campbell’s offbeat observations have been published in Reader’s Digest and Parent Magazine, and his “Dumpster” essays close every issue of Food & Spirits magazine. His newest book, Of Mice and Me: Thought Droppings, presents 70 new essays, many inspired by his popular humor blog and his coveted weekly email rants as owner of Mick’s Music & Bar.

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