Royal Oak Resident Wins Grand Prize in Story Shares Contest

From Story Shares: Royal Oak resident Brian Kirchner’s “The Syrian Drummer and the Cactus Crimson Paint” wins Grand Prize for Diversity in Story Shares 2016 Relevant Reads national writing contest. Story Shares, a nonprofit organization devoted to inspiring reading practice and improving literacy skills, drew 1,665 submissions from writers across the country of all ages and backgrounds. The organization selected top stories from genres including historical fiction, horror/suspense, fantasy, overall diversity and a “teens for teens” section for writers under the age of 18.

Kirchner’s “The Syrian Drummer and the Cactus Crimson Paint” follows the story of three bandmates searching for a drummer in their hometown just outside of Detroit. A few streets over, talented drum-player Yusuf and his family are Syrian refugees searching for a new life and new opportunities. It's a perfect match except that there are some who would come between the new family and their chances at success. The story follows the three friends' journey to put their minds together to save their new band-mate from the prejudices threatening Yusuf and his family.

The inspiration for Kirchner’s story came from a number of sources including his own religious faith. Kirchner belongs to the Baha'i faith, which he believes promotes unity of all people of the world. He wanted to write a story that dealt with a theme of cultural/racial divisions overcome by intelligence and understanding, in the context of a good, fun whodunit-style mystery featuring a diverse cast of characters. Kirchner, who is working on a sequel to his story which will feature the same main characters and will also be a mystery, notes that he’d be delighted to write for Story Shares again.

“I wrote for Story Shares because I believe deeply in the power of a good story to change the direction of a person's life, especially a young person,” says Kirchner. “As a kid growing up, reading was one of my greatest pleasures. It allowed me to travel to ancient lands, other planets, and even into other people's minds. Reading is what triggered my lifelong love of writing, and it also gave me a significant appreciation for places and people different from what I knew.”

“When I read about the contest, I knew I had to contribute something to it, and hopefully get it in front of the eyes of younger readers so that maybe they, like me, could be transported by a great story,” adds Kirchner.

The Story Shares annual writing contest enables the organization to build their library of Relevant Reads, which meets the needs of the millions of readers who don’t currently have a shelf of their own in the library. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as many as 90 million teens and adults in America lack crucial literacy skills, and do not have the tools needed to change that.

The organization’s positive impact on literacy empowers and inspires many kinds of struggling readers including English language learners, students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and students from low-income communities who have fallen behind in literacy skills and reading comprehension. Story Shares' mission is truly a matter of changing an entire literacy landscape.

For more information about Kirchner and Story Shares Relevant Reads winners including a synopsis of each winning book, visitStoryShares.org/contest.

Photo courtesy of Story Shares