Enter the Incredible Six Word Wonder Contest 2024

Welcome to the Six Word Wonder Contest for 2024 

THIS YEAR’S CONTEST IS OVER. WATCH OUT FOR UPDATES HERE.

Find out 2024 wiiner of the Six Word Wonder contest here.

This is the place for you to enter your absolute best six word stories, memoirs, poems, and jokes, with the chance of winning $100, getting published, and being named the Six Word Wonder!

You can read about the previous winners here.

Entry is free. All entries will be credited to you if shared or published in future. By entering, you agree to the contest’s full terms and conditions.

You can scroll down to read the FAQs and terms and conditions.

Here’s the Six Word Wonder Contest entry form – why not enter? It’s FREE!

Simply compose up to four six word stories, memoirs, poems, or jokes and enter using this form.

Read Ten Ways to Improve Your Chance of Winning the Contest.

To have the best chance of winning, get inspired, and learn more about the six word form, we recommend you check out the Six Word Wonder series of book – Six Word Wonder, Six Word Story, and Six Word Stories?

Once you have entered, make sure you are double-opted in and mark the emails as “not junk”. If not, I may not able to contact you about news relating to this and future Six Word Wonder contests, and offers about the books associated with Six Word Wonder and Doug Weller. You may unsubscribe at any time.

What is the Six Word Wonder contest?

A Six Word Wonder is a story, memoir, poem, or joke, told in only six words.

About the history of the Six Word Wonder contest

We are now in the 4th year of the Six Word Wonder Contest

To celebrate the launch of our last book, Six Word Stories, we ran the third year of our contest to find the best new Six Word Wonders.

The ambition of the contest is to encourage everyone to experiment with the six word format, and hopefully discover fresh new stories, poems, memoirs, and jokes.

Your response to the most recent contest was phenomenal. 

More than 24,000 entries were submitted to the 22/23 contest. Entries came from all over the world, from Australia to Zimbabwe, via Uzbekistan, Bosnia, India, and Brazil.

We saw stories of darkness and light, of amusement, and genuine seriousness. Exactly what you would expect from a great Six Word Wonder. In the judging, we whittled the stories down to a shortlist for inclusion, which were then scattered through the pages of the Six Word Stories book.

A huge thank you to all who entered. There were many more great stories than we were able to include in the book. If your story didn’t feature, don’t be disheartened. There is no rule-book for what a great Six Word Wonder is – it’s just a matter of opinion and instinct. Perhaps the best response to any frustration you feel is to grab a pen and write some more stories!

There were a vast variety of stories, memoirs, poems, and jokes, ranging across genres from romance, to horror, right through to philosophy and politics. Current themes like the Covid-19 pandemic featured heavily, as did old favorite spins on the classic – For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.

The best examples shared a few things in common:

• Drew a definite emotional response.

• Featured beauty, suspense, or surprise.

• Took the reader on a journey, even if they needed to fill in the blanks.

• Used only six words!.

You can read some analytics about the 22/23 contest here.

How do I learn more about writing great Six Word Wonders?

You may have your original six word stories, memoirs, poems, or jokes written already. If not, why not write a few?

Here’s a sample of 61 Six Word Wonders to help you get creative juices flowing.

If you’d like to see examples of Six Word Wonders, you can find over 1000 stories between the three books Six Word Wonder, Six Word Story, and Six Word Stories.

How do I enter the Six Word Wonder Contest?

That’s your chance to get published in the next Six Word Wonder collection, plus win up to $100.

Entry is free. All entries will be credited to you if shared or published in future. By entering, you agree to the full terms and conditions.

What does the Six Word Wonder winner win?

The winner will be:

Named Six Word Wonder 2024

Published in a future Six Word Wonder series book.

Win a cash prize of $100

Shortlisted stories will also win the chance to be published in a future Six Word Wonder book series.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Six Word Wonder Contest

Does only the winner get published?

A shortlist of the best entries will be drawn up. All the shortlist entries will be included in a future Six Word Wonder book.

Can I enter the contest under a pen name?

Yes – feel free to enter under your pen name.

What is the aim of the Six Word Wonder Contest?

We run the contest in order to find more great six word stories, poem, jokes, and memoirs. Of course, we really hope you fall in love with Six Word Wonders and want to read more about them. 

Can I enter in a different language?

Unfortunately, all entries must be in English.

If I win, when will my entry be published?

We can’t confirm publishing dates at this stage. But don’t forget that this contest ends on 30th November 2022.

Why do I have to agree to receive emails to enter?

In order to contact you about this and future Six Word Wonder contests, for example, to let you know if you’ve been shortlisted or won the contest, and to update you on discount offers and news about Doug Weller’s books like Six Word Stories, you join the email mailing list when you enter. You may unsubscribe from future emails at any time.

Will my entry be credited to me?

Yes. If your entered six word wonders are used for publication or in another form, they will be credited using the name / pen name you provided.

Can I use obscenities in my entry?

Swear words and slurs can be powerful language. Unfortunately, we can’t accept entries with very strong language as the winners will be published in a book for all readers.

Can I enter a story I have entered in a previous contest?

Yes. Provided the story is your own original work and you hold the copyright, you may enter it in this contest, even if it’s already published, shared or entered elsewhere.

Where can I read previous entries to the Six Word Wonder contest?

You can read over six hundred previous Six Word Wonder contest entries here.

Full Terms and Conditions of the Six Word Wonder Contest 2023/24

Please ensure you read the rules carefully before entering the contest. You are required to confirm acceptance of the contest rules on submission of your entry and failure to comply with the rules may result in disqualification.

1. The contest is open to all nationalities and all backgrounds. Six Word Wonder fully supports global equality.
2. All entries must be exactly six words long, and written in British or American English. Any titles will be included in the six word count. Entrants must be aged 16 years old or over, otherwise they will be disqualified.
3. Entries can only be made through the entry form on dougweller.net. Entries through any other source may be disqualified.
4. Entries may be on any subject. You may enter up to 4 six word stories per entry.
5. All entrants confirm that they hold the copyright for each entry and all entries are original. Entries must not be plagiarised or copied from other sources. Entries must be entirely your own work. Any evidence to the contrary will result in immediate disqualification.
6. Worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the original author, but Doug Weller and Six Word Wonder have the unrestricted rights to publish any entry, in any form, including, but not limited to, publication on https://dougweller.net, publication in books, magazines, Instagram, and Twitter, and promotional material, including the use of the entrant’s name. No additional compensation will be offered or given for use by Six Word Wonder or Doug Weller.
7. All entrants agree to only enter the contest if it is lawful to enter in their country.
8. As part of the entry, the entrant may receive emails to update about the contest, about the publication of books in the Six Word Wonder series, and other news from Doug Weller. You may unsubscribe at any time.
9. It is not possible to confirm receipt of entries by phone or email.
10. The shortlist and winning entrants will be contacted by email after the judging has been completed.
11. You may enter the contest using a pen name. This name will be used in correspondence and in any credit for published stories.
12. This contest will close to new entrants on 30th November 2023 at midnight Pacific Standard Time. Any entries after this time may be disqualified.
13. Entrants must complete the double-opt to complete their entry.
14. Friends and family of Doug Weller may not enter this contest.
15. Each entry will be judged by Doug Weller using any criteria he deems appropriate to assess the creative merit of the entry. The judge’s decision is final and no individual correspondence can be entered into. The judge is unable to comment on individual entries. Judging is fair and unbiased. Six Word Wonder reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice.
16. The first prize winner will win a $100 cash prize, to be transferred to a PayPal account, or other arrangements mutually agreed upon between the winner and Doug Weller.
17. Using Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) to write your entry is not allowed. Any participant found to be using AI will be disqualified.

Still not sure about entering the Six Word Wonder contest?

If you’re unsure and would like to learn more about Six Word Wonders, visit here.