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There’s a literary legend that Ernest Hemingway, while having dinner with fellow writers of the famous Algonquin Round Table in New York City, bet he could write a story in just six words. They bet not. He grabbed a pen and a napkin and wrote:

“For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

They paid up and Hemingway called it his best work. Now it’s your turn!

Enter the Library’s twelfth annual Six Word Story contest, between March 1 and 22, and you could win prizes. Who knows, you might even win a place in literary history. We will have a special team of Six Word Story contest judges who will review all submitted stories and help determine the winners. Winners will be announced during National Library Week, April 6-12.

Prizes: Named for famous short story writers, our three prizes are as follows:

1st prize “The Ernest Hemingway”

2nd prize “The Sandra Cisneros”

3rd prize “The James Baldwin”

Submit your Six Word Stories in one of these ways:

• Email to askusSPL@sherwoodoregon.gov.
• In the submission box at Sherwood Public Library.
• Send us a Facebook message.

Please include your full name, age (if under 18), and contact info (either a telephone number or an email).

Rules:

• Your story must have six words.
• Hyphenated words or contractions (such as I’m, can’t, wasn’t, etc.) are allowed and count as one word. However, you may only use one of them per story.
• Your story must be your original work.
• You may submit up to two Six Word Stories per contestant.
• Your Six Word Story must be submitted by Saturday, March 22, 2025.
• This is a family-friendly contest, so please use appropriate content.
• By entering the Six Word Story Contest, you give Sherwood Public Library the rights to post your story and name in the Library and in our media outlets.