Brother John
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Winner of the John Templeton Essay contest.
The Templeton Foundation's prizes have been called the "Nobel Prize for Religious Research"— not to indicate any formal connection to the Nobel Foundation, but to suggest a comparable level of prestige in a different field. (For instance, Mother Teresa received a Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion six years before she received her Nobel Peace Prize.)
So when the Foundation announced a contest for the most inspiring essay on life's purpose, with all the prestige of the Templeton name and a half a million dollars in cash awards, they attracted a lot of attention. 7,351 essays were submitted from 97 countries. The blue-ribbon panel of judges (including Purpose-Driven Life author Rick Warren) would judge the essays on their merits alone, without knowing who the authors were: professional writers, religious leaders, and complete unknowns were all on a level playing field.
When the winners were announced, the Templeton Foundation took out full-pages ads in major newspapers and magazines to announce ten winners of $10,000 each; four winners of $25,000 each; four winners of $50,000 each; and one Grand Prize Winner of $100,000.
The Grand Prize Winner was a man who had never written a book, never published an article in a major journal, never sought or found national fame of any kind: a man who had spent his life searching for answers to the spiritual questions that had plagued him since his youth.
The man's name was August Turak. The essay was entitled "Brother John."
The essay tells the story of Turak's journey to a Trappist Monastery: of his personal encounter with a group of men who have devoted their lives unflinchingly to God.
The essay was subsequently featured in the anthologies Best of Christian Writing and Best of Catholic Writing, both available for a price of around $30. More importantly, the essay attracted the attention of Harper Collins, one of the largest and most famous publishing houses in the world. Harper Collins approached Turak about a book, which he is now working on, tentatively entitled Not Less Than Everything. The book will describe Turak's remarkable life, and the sacrifices he made along the way. It will more fully develop many of the themes first stated in "Brother John."
Find out more about August Turak at www.augustturak.com
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