Sun readers show off their wordsmithing in the RMMWA’s annual 6-word Mystery Contest

Colorado Sun readers once again won recognition for their clever entries in the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America’s 2024 6-word Mystery Contest, with two wordsmiths landing three finalist berths in the eighth annual competition.

Katie Coakley of Eagle County was a finalist in the RMMWA’s contest, which attracted 283 entries from all over the country, after her 6-word mystery was selected one of the 10 best among entrants to the Sun’s free parallel contest, which generated a record 172 entries. Those 10 winners had their $6 entry fee paid to the big competition.

Coakley was cited for her entry in the Cozy category: “The footprints disappeared into unbroken snow.”

Robert Cleary, a Sun reader who lives in New Orleans and submitted eight entries to the Sun contest, also was a Cozy finalist with a mystery he submitted separately to the RMMWA competition: “Gone joyriding — one of us anyway.”

He also earned a nod as a finalist in the Romance & Lust category for: “Hitchhiking, alone, midnight — just my type.”

Last year, Sun reader Denali Hussin took top honors in the Thriller category with this gem: “I called his widow. He answered.”

All genre finalists received $25 gift cards from the RMMWA. This year’s panel of judges included Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine editor Linda Landrigan; New York Times best-selling author Anne Hillerman; award-winning author, lawyer and activist Manuel Ramos; literary agent Terrie Wolf, owner of AKA Literary Management; and John Charles of The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The overall winner of the $100 grand prize went to entrant John Parker for the Romance & Lust entry: “Candles burning, cabernet breathing. He isn’t.”

Mystery Writers of America is a nonprofit organization of mystery and crime writers, editors, publishers, and other professionals in the mystery field. The Rocky Mountain Chapter represents members in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana and Utah. 

2024 Six-Word Mystery Contest Finalists

Rocky Mountain Chapter, Mystery Writers of America

*Category Finalist Winner
**Overall Winner

Police Procedural

*Cop wasn’t alone. Death rode shotgun. (K.D. Horton)
“Chief … gun’s registered in your name.” (Andy Engeman)
Zoom Killer caught on audio, video. (Rita A. Popp)
Cop recognizes knife in brunette’s neck. (Elaine B Johnson)
Murderer caught. Case closed. New victim? (Katherine Hernandez)

Romance & Lust

Preacher weeps beside paramour’s unmarked grave. (Andrew Maikovich)
**Candles burning, cabernet breathing. He isn’t. (John Parker)
Wedding dress. Worn once. Big mistake. (Marilyn Saltzman)
Hitchhiking, alone, midnight — just my type. (Robert Cleary)
Kill him gently. He’s my ex. (Vaibhav Hassija)

Thriller (3-way tie)

*Silver duct tape. Silence is golden. (K.D. Horton)
*Murderous clown leaves victims in stitches. (Rick Duffy)
They found gardener’s wife in Bonsai. (Vaibhav Hassija)
*Library heist: Thieves booked novel escape! (Twist Phelan)
Tailor buttonholed; alibi unravels. Stitched up. (Twist Phelan)

Cozy

*”It’s a garter snake,” herpetologist lied. (Rita A. Popp)
Gone joyriding — one of us anyway. (Robert Cleary)
The footprints disappeared into unbroken snow. (Katie Coakley)
The gardener’s scarecrow looked too realistic. (Rita A. Popp)
K-9 dachshunds solve life’s little mysteries. (Rita A. Popp)

Noir/Hardboiled

*Arsonist nabbed, confesses. His client? Burned. (Chuck Brownman)
Gat makes fat cat go splat. (Simon Krauss)
Jewel thief dead, cop in Tahiti. (Elaine B Johnson)
Moonlight. Streetlight. Limelight. Striptease. Zip ties. (Steve Conley)
Single action, double indemnity, triple homicide. (Sue Hinkin)