Lauryn Ramme, left, a junior at Luther L. Wright High School in Ironwood, and Paige Griffin of Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary School have won first place in the senior and junior divisions, respectively, in this year’s Dandelion Cottage Award. The award recognizes excellence in student writing. (Photos courtesy of the Upper Peninsula Publishers & Authors Association)

MARQUETTE — Several local students are winners of the Upper Peninsula Publishers & Authors Association’s fifth annual Dandelion Cottage Award.

The award recognizes what UPPAA called “U.P. student short story writers of excellence” in grades five through 12.

Winning the senior division for grades nine through 12 was Lauryn Ramme, a junior at Luther L. Wright High School in Ironwood, for her story “Birdie.” Her sponsor was Tricia Winn. The award includes a medallion, the winner’s name on a traveling school trophy and a $250 cash prize.

Second place went to Siena Goodney, a freshman at Marquette Senior High School, with Tony Parlato as sponsor, for her story “Letters Under the Floorboards.” Goodney will receive a medallion and $100 prize.

A medallion and prize money of $50 will go to third-place winner Heidi Helppi, a junior at Negaunee High School, for her story “The Blood of My Love,” with Gina Sorenssen as sponsor.

In the junior division, for writers in grades five to eight, eighth-grader Paige Griffin of Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary won for her story “The Olive Branch,” earning her a $150 prize. Her sponsor was Jessica Klein.

This year’s participants came from nine U.P. schools, from Ironwood to Manistique and from Lake Linden-Hubbell to Escanaba, the UPPAA said.

The Dandelion Cottage Award is funded entirely by charitable donations, with no fees charged to entrants or winners. Students submit stories in consultation with their teachers.

The UPPAA indicated that this year’s contest was made even more competitive thanks to a free student writing workshop run ahead of the contest by author and educator Deborah K. Frontiera of Calumet.

Local author Larry Buege of Marquette, a UPPAA board member and author of the popular “Chogan” series, chaired the event.

“Each year produces more contestants and higher-quality short stories,” Buege said in an email.

For more information about the annual Dandelion Cottage short story contest, visit www.DandelionCottage.org.

Each of the honored stories will appear in the upcoming sixth volume of the U.P. Reader, UPPAA’s annual literary anthology featuring short stories, poetry and essays by its members. This successful publication helps spread the word about the organization, raise money for educational programming and encourages people in the U.P. and beyond to read U.P. writers. Complimentary copies of the U.P. Reader are available to all U.P. educators and media for the asking. The on-sale date is scheduled for April 15. Consult your local bookseller for availability or purchase at Amazon.

For more information, visit www.UPReader.org.

The awards are tentatively scheduled to be distributed at the 24th Annual UPPAA Conference at the Peter White Public Library on June 4. If a new COVID-19 flare-up arises, the awards, including cash prizes, medallions and complimentary copies of U.P. Reader, will be distributed through private meetings throughout the U.P.

The UPPAA was founded in 1998 and is a non-profit corporation with the goal of educating and empowering authors of the U.P. Among its outreach programs are the U.P. Notable Books List, the Dandelion Cottage Award and a yearly anthology The U.P. Reader.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.