The Will Rogers Writers' Workshop is modeled after the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop in Dayton, Ohio, which is conducted during even-numbered years under the able leadership of Tim Bete of the University of Dayton.

The Ohio workshop has had an attendance of 300 or more writers and the Oklahoma City workshop was designed for the same number.

The 2007 workshop is named for Will Rogers, the multi-talented cowboy philosopher-humorist whose words are still as alive as when he kept America laughing, and thinking, in the 1920s and 1930s. He wrote more than 4,000 newspaper columns and authored six books. He also reached the public through magazine articles, radio commentaries and speeches. He had a hand in many of the scripts of the more than 60 movies he made.

The Oklahoma City workshop features a program with broad appeal. Newspaper columnists and feature writers, editorial writers, humor writers, authors, full-time and part-time, free-lance and self-syndicated, print media and online writers all will find valuable information that will help improve their work. They also will enjoy the warm hospitality of Oklahomans celebrating the state's centennial.

Serving as hosts for the workshop will be The Oklahoman, Oklahoma's largest newspaper, and NewsOK.com, its prize-winning web site.

The program begins with a Thursday evening reception at The Oklahoma Publishing Company, followed by two full days of presentations by outstanding speakers and concurrent sessions on a variety of topics.

The location is the Renaissance Convention Center Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City near historic Bricktown, the city’s newest entertainment and dining district. The 311-room Renaissance with its spectacular garden atrium connects to the Cox Business Services Convention Center, a state-of-the-art venue for meetings of all sizes.

The National Society of Newspaper Columnists is the lead organization in obtaining funds and other support for the workshop. NSNC, which has members throughout the United States and parts of Canada, established a partnership with the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in June, 2005. The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation is providing major funding for the project. Other journalism associations and foundations are being encouraged to join in co-sponsoring the workshop, along with national book publishers, local businesses, state and municipal agencies and other sources.

The Oklahoma Centennial Commission has designated the workshop as an official centennial project, with authorization to use the Oklahoma Centennial Commemoration logo.

The University of Oklahoma and other educational institutions in central Oklahoma are being invited to participate by providing faculty resources and journalism students to serve as volunteers during the workshop.

Robert L. Haught, a veteran Oklahoma journalist and event organizer, is workshop director. Haught is a former UPI correspondent and Oklahoman editorial writer who writes a Washington-based column for the newspaper's op-ed page. Sally Allen, editor and columnist for NewsOK.com, is assistant director and on-site coordinator. She brings to the project many years of newspaper and online experience.