Kyra Holmgren, left, and Annabell Dankert are the senior and junior division winners, respectively, in this year’s Dandelion Cottage Award competition. The contest is held by the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association. The latest U.P. Reader installment to be published by the UPPAA will include the winners of the Dandelion Cottage Short Story Award with divisions for grades nine to 12 and five to eight. (Photo courtesy of the UPPAA)

MARQUETTE — The Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association presents the fifth installment of the U.P. Reader, which will feature the collected works of 32 top U.P. authors.

The U.P. Reader also will include winners of the Dandelion Cottage Short Story Award with divisions for grades nine to 12 and five to eight. This award, created in 2017 by UPPAA member Larry Buege, author of the popular Chogan Native American series, showcases the best writing from young authors who are enrolled in U.P. primary and secondary public schools.

Winners were Kyra Holmgren in the senior division and Annabell Dankert in the junior division.

“The U.P. Reader is something I hope will put Upper Peninsula authors in touch with the readers to expand their exposure to a much greater and more effective level,” said Publication Committee Chair Mikel B. Classen of Sault Ste. Marie in a news release. “This collection will be published by the UPPAA and will showcase the multitude of talent within the membership of the organization. Furthermore, we will include all genres of writing including non-fiction and poetry.”

New this year will be an audiobook edition of U.P. Reader narrated by Brandy Thomas of Marquette, which can be purchased from Audible.com or iTunes starting May 1. Paperback and hardcover editions are already available to local booksellers as well as contributors for sale and promotion. Booksellers can order directly from Ingram or from Modern History Press.

U.P. educators can contact UPPAA for a complimentary reading copy and a special discount for classroom purchases. Paperback, hardcover and Kindle editions are available on Amazon.

Also new this year is a special boxed set eBook edition that will allow readers to purchase the entire five-volume set of the U.P. Reader for the price of three. The set will be available on May 1.

“This is a publication about discovery, finding new favorites and maybe rediscovering some old ones too,” Classen said in a news release. “I think it is underestimated how many really talented writers we have living right here in the U.P. and the Reader will be the place to find them.

“We are especially honored to have a piece by internationally bestselling author Karen Dionne (“The Wicked Sister“), formerly of St. Ignace.”

Tyler Tichelaar of Marquette, author and former president of UPPAA, said in a news release, “A collection of short stories, poetry and essays will allow readers to enjoy a hodgepodge of U.P. literature from many different voices and will offer numerous visions and definitions of what it means to live here. The U.P. can be many different things to many different people and such a collection will help make that clear.”

Submissions for U.P. Reader Volume No. 6 , which will be juried by an editorial panel, will be open on May 1. Authors chosen to be published in the anthology will see their submission published along with an author’s biography to steer readers to more work by that author. Contributors need only have an active membership in UPPAA to be considered for publication.

Proceeds from the U.P. Reader will be used to support operating costs of the UPPAA and its many events to educate its members about writing and to support educational projects such as the Dandelion Cottage story contest that encourages young writers. However, the main focus remains to get U.P. literature into the hands of readers.

For more info, including submission guidelines, visit www.UPReader.org.

Established in 1998 to support authors and publishers who live in or write about Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, UPPAA is a Michigan nonprofit with more than 100 members, many of whose books are featured at www.uppaa.org. UPPAA welcomes membership and participation from anyone with a U.P. connection who is interested in writing.