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

The contest is accepting submissions from students in fifth to 12th grade who attend or are being home-schooled in a U.P. school district.

The contest deadline is Jan. 31. Submissions are accepted in two categories: fifth through eighth grade and ninth through 12th grade. Any teacher in a U.P 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 prizewinning entries from high school writers and the best story from fifth through eighth grade will appear in volume 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.

The UPPAA’s mailing address is: Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association, 5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-9238.