Longtime member and three-time past president Viv Sade is one of four first-place winners in the 2026 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition, the contest organizers announced Feb. 25.
Her essay, “When it Comes to Passwords, I’ll Pass,” won first place in the global humor category of the contest, sponsored by the Washington-Centerville Public Library in Dayton, Ohio. The contest is conducted in honor of the late Erma Bombeck, a nationally syndicated humor columnist and book author who died in 1996. Bombeck was a Dayton area native and University of Dayton alumna.
“It’s an understatement to say I was shocked when I got the phone call telling me I had won first place in the Erma Bombeck global humor competition. I was thrilled, elated, ecstatic and jumping around the living room pumping my fists in the air like Rocky Balboa,” said Sade, whose humor column appeared in the Auburn Star, the Churubusco News and the Northwest News for many years and who maintains her own blog featuring humorous essays.
“I have always been a big Erma fan, especially during the decades when I was raising my four children. Her family-related humor is what got me through motherhood and, as a result, got my children through childhood. Her books still have a place of honor in my bookcase.”
Sade’s essay, originally published on her blog, is a humorous look at devising, remembering and using numerous passwords in the digital world. Her humor columns are just one aspect of her more than 35-year career in the publishing industry, both print and digital.
She worked for various newspapers throughout northeast Indiana, including the Auburn Star, Churubusco News and the Journal Gazette, covering local events as well as localizing global events that affected her readers. Sade received more than 200 awards for her reporting and writing, including the Hoosier State Press Association’s Story of the Year.
She retired from newspapers in 2016, but continues to write and produce websites and newsletters on a freelance basis.
“Anyone who knows Viv is aware of her keen sense of humor and excellent writing skills,” said WPCI President Becky Killian. “This award is well-deserved, and I’m delighted she will have the opportunity to share her humor with other Bombeck fans.”
For her achievement, Sade will receive $1,000; free registration to the March 26-28 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop at the University of Dayton; and publication of her essay online and in the workshop program. She also will read her essay aloud as part of the awards program. The workshop also named Sade Humor Writer of the Month for March.
This year, the competition drew 509 entries from 45 states and 14 countries, up from the 480 submissions received in 2024.
“The essays for this year’s contest have been superb. Once they reach the final round, they are truly exceptional,” Debe Dockins, coordinator of the biennial contest for the Washington-Centerville Public Library in partnership with the workshop, said in a press release. “The Erma contest is recognized as one of the leading competitions in the field, precisely because of the quality of judging, and we are honored to celebrate our hometown legend.”
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