MARQUETTE — The Dandelion Cottage Young Writers Contest, organized by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association, is now open for short story submissions by students in the Upper Peninsula.

Submissions for the contest are being accepted from students in fifth through 12th grades who attend or are being homeschooled in an Upper Peninsula school district. The next contest deadline is Jan. 31. Per rules of the contest, submissions are accepted in two categories: fifth through eighth grade and ninth through 12th grades. Any teacher in the Upper Peninsula School District may nominate up to two short stories per grade-segment. Stories entered should not exceed 5,000 words in length. The top prize is $250 cash for the first-place senior division winner and $150 for junior division winner; there are no entry fees for writers.

The Dandelion Cottage Story Contest gives young authors an opportunity to participate in a literary event specifically organized for nourishing their creative writing talent. The top three prize-winning entries from high school writers and the best story from fifth through eighth grade will appear in the volume No. 5 of the U.P. Reader, an anthology of short stories and poetry from members of UPPAA. At least 100 copies of the U.P. Reader will be donated to rural libraries across the U.P. when it is released in April 2021.

Victor R. Volkman, president of UPPAA, said this year marks the contest’s fourth anniversary. “We have been thrilled to see more schools across the U.P. submitting entries each year. Really, the Dandelion Cottage has given a new purpose to UPPAA that was missing before — a way to nurture the next generation of great U.P. writers.”

Winners receive a cash prize, a commemorative medallion, a hardcover copy of the book featuring their work, and when possible recognition in a school-wide award ceremony.

“This contest has no limits for young writers in terms of subject matter or setting,” Volkman said. “We have seen extremely well-crafted stories in many genres including science fiction, fantasy, historical, and contemporary fiction. Plot lines sometimes include real student concerns, such as date rape, suicide, and warfare. Writing is a great outlet for feelings that may not be easy or possible to express in any other way.

Interested readers can go to http://www.dandelioncottage.org/ to learn more about the Dandelion Cottage Young Writers Contest.

The Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association was established in 1998 to support authors and publishers who live in or write about Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, UPPAA is a Michigan non-profit association with more than 100 members, many of whose books are featured on the organization’s website at www.uppaa.org.