A Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and two other distinguished Maine authors will choose finalists in this year’s Journey Into Writing contest sponsored by the Maine Community College System.

Richard Ford, Wesley McNair, and Monica Wood will serve as judges of the contest that is open to Maine high school juniors. Students may submit work in one of three categories-poetry, short story, or essay. Entries for this year’s contest are being accepted through Dec. 1.

Last year, 218 students from 65 Maine high schools submitted their work to the contest. Contest rules and entry forms are available at writing.mccs.me.edu.

Three winners will be announced in May and honored as the governor’s “Young Writer of the Year.” Each will each receive $2,500.