Annual competition seeks diverse stories that are “easy to read and hard to put down” for striving readers, helping to improve global literacy

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES, September 18, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Storyshares (www.storyshares.org), a literacy organization on a mission to spread a love of reading and improve literacy across the globe, has announced that its 7th annual Story of the Year Contest will run from September 18, 2024, to January 13, 2025. The competition, which is free and unlimited to enter, offers over $15,000 in cash prizes. All entries that meet the unique Storyshares guidelines will have the chance to be published in both digital and print form. Winners will be announced April 7, 2025.

The 2024 contest will feature four distinct categories: “Immersive Decodables,” “Captivating Characters,” “Global Change-Makers,” and “For Teens By Teens.” A fifth category, added this year through a partnership with ReadWorks^®, invites young authors to write a new, alternate ending for its 8th-grade cliffhanger series, "Hacked!"

“Our writing contest is all about creating more book choices for the 774 million striving teen and young adult readers around the world,” said Founder & CEO Louise Baigelman. “It's not just a competition; it's a key piece in our mission to create a library with ‘just right’ books for every reader.”

“In addition to the cash-prize winners, every entry that meets the unique Storyshares guidelines has the chance to contribute to a movement to inspire a love of reading among millions of tweens, teens, and adults,” added Baigelman. “This is an opportunity for writers to not only expose their work to a large, established network of readers, but moreover, for their words to become part of the mission to empower literacy across the globe. This is an opportunity to change lives and to make a difference.”

About the Contest

As a middle school teacher, Baigelman observed that many of her students’ reading levels lagged behind their ages and interests. Recognizing that millions of students were dealing with this same problem, she set out to find a solution. The first Storyshares writing contest launched in October 2013 as just an experiment — a project designed to test a solution to address the lack of engaging and culturally relevant texts for adolescents and young adults.

“We sought to answer a key question: Could we inspire a community of authors to develop a new kind of book designed specifically to support and empower older striving readers?” Baigelman recalls.

The answer came quickly, as she received hundreds of submissions that first year and began building a library for those students who were being overlooked.

“What we learned from that first experiment is this: There already exists a willing community of suppliers (authors) and an eager community of consumers (struggling readers). They are simply unaware of each other, and they require facilitation to communicate effectively. Storyshares brings these readers and writers together for ongoing content creation and consumption.”

The writing contest has since engaged over 4,000 authors from 180 countries, resulting in the publication of more than 600 titles to date, with hundreds more published each year. Storyshares books are now distributed to over a million readers around the world.

"Contests like these make us optimistic that change makers will succeed in brightening and diversifying the world of literature," said We Need Diverse Books, a previous Storyshares contest partner.

How to Enter

Following is a breakdown of category descriptions and awards (all winners will have their works published in digital and print format and receive the opportunity to have their work translated into another language):

Immersive Decodables: $5,000 (Divided into two subcategories)
Decodable Chapter Books: Make a story come to life using single-syllable, high-frequency, and specific phonics words based on a given scope and sequence.
Decodable Microfiction Collection: Create a collection of short and impactful stories with our microfiction challenge – using 250 words or less per story!

Captivating Characters: $3,000
Showcase relatable and complex characters that captivate readers and help drive the story with rich personalities, compelling backstories, and dynamic arcs.

Global Change-Maker: $3,000
Capture a nonfiction story of change-makers (from activists to innovators) by highlighting their impact in an exciting and insightful way that inspires others to follow in their footsteps.

For Teens By Teens: $2,000
[Exclusively for teen writers 18 years or younger] Create a story in any genre that showcases your unique experiences and reflects your interests.

ReadWorks Story Reimagined: $2,000
Write a new ending for the ReadWorks 8th-grade cliffhanger series, Hacked!

To enter the contest, writers of all ages and backgrounds from anywhere in the world can visit www.storyshares.org/contest and create a free Storyshares account. Participants will be guided through the Storyshares writing guidelines and instructions on how to submit their work.

For more information about Storyshares, visit www.Storyshares.org.
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About Storyshares
Storyshares (www.storyshares.org) is a literacy organization dedicated to inspiring a love of reading across the globe. It offers a continuously expanding selection of engaging and representative decodable and high-low titles, which cater to a wide range of reading abilities and interests. Storyshares supports educators with a comprehensive suite of literacy resources and professional development opportunities, ensuring they can effectively bridge the Science of Reading with culturally relevant content, fostering significant literacy growth for students in grades 3-12.

Brian T Hyland
Cricket Public Relations
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