Shark Feed
Lit Shark Reads Jennifer Givhan’s ‘Girl with Death Mask’ (Sealey Challenge #2)
Happy Tuesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! Welcome back for Day 2 of our take on The Sealey Challenge! If you missed Day 1, it's here. Founded by Nicole Sealey in 2016, The Sealey Challenge marked its tenth anniversary on August 1st... and the fact that it was...
Lit Shark Reads Betsy Andrews’ ‘The Bottom’ (Sealey Challenge #1)
Happy Sunday, readers, writers, and shark fans, and Happy August! (Augtober to those who celebrate, because WE DO.) For those who have been following along, our team had sort of a weird June and July, so we're kicking it up a few notches in August and declaring this...
Announcing: Lit Shark Magazine’s July Poem of the Month!
Happy Wednesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! This morning, I discovered we had a little bit of a social media mishap, in that our posts did not post, so we celebrated Shark and Ray Awareness Day (actually July 14th) a day late with all of you. I'm so glad to...
Latest Book Reviews
Learn How the Mind Works to Slow Down Time, Enjoy Life, and Make the Most Out of the Hours in Your Day with Jean Paul Zogby
Slow Down Time: The Power of Time Perception by Jean Paul Zogby looks at how we see and process time. As Einstein said “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it’s two hours....
What Makes a Villain? A Review of ‘Verity’ by Colleen Hoover
This review contains spoilers of Verity by Colleen Hoover. Content Warning: Abuse, Death, Mental Health, Violence, and Sexual Assault Exploring Character Intent and Actions Many books craft a story with a clear villain and a hero, providing the reader with a...
Make a Joyful Life in 30 Days with ‘The Joy Plan’ by Kaia Roman
The Joy Plan by Kaia Roman outlines a 30-day experiment where the author concentrates solely on joy, quitting complaining, and stopping worrying! She puts the results of the experiment into this book. It’s easy to read, fun, joyful—and super inspiring. The book starts...
Congratulations to Han Kang for Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature!
Happy Friday, readers, writers, and shark fans! We're very excited to share that the results are in for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the winner is none other than the incredible Human Acts author, Han Kang. The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2024 is awarded...
If You Loved ‘The Pagemaster’ and ‘The NeverEnding Story,’ Read ‘Edwin and the Quest for Drow’ by Gordon C. Allan Next!
One of my favorite tropes in middle-grade and young adult stories is the concept of the main character loving one of their parents but not being particularly close to them... so when that parent dies or disappears, the main character toils with missing and grieving...
The ‘Charlie’s Story’ Series: Let’s Give Octopi Another Look
When I first discovered Cyanea by Ann R. McNicol and then realized it was the fourth book in a series, I quickly immersed myself in the world of these books—and I am so grateful I did!...
A group of sharks is called a shiver.
Latest Lit Shark Issue
Our Creative Highlights
Creative Highlight: “Listing”
Happy Wednesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! In response to our "We're Making a List" writing prompt, Julie A. Dickson wrote this wonderful poem, "Listing," which also went on to appear in Issue 1 of Lit Shark Magazine. Here is Julie's poem, recreated as a...
Lit Pup Submissions Open!
“Follow your artistic obsessions mercilessly.” – Franz Kafka
Latest Author Interviews
Dickinson & One-Thousand Rages: An Interview with ‘Armed to the Teeth’ Poet, Ellen Hirning Schmidt
Happy Thursday, readers, writers, and shark fans! We love celebrating our Lit Shark community here, so we are excited today to share Ellen Hirning Schmidt's latest poetry collection, Armed to the Teeth. Ellen graced us with her presence in Issue 2 of Lit Shark...
This Charming Equestrian Thriller Has Surprises at Every Turn, Even for the Author
How many lives can one woman save in one romantic equestrian thriller? Well, Betty Briggs pushes the envelope in her novel, Pressure Point, in which Stephanie receives a letter from her ultimate nemesis, who mocks her with the kidnapping of her future adoptive...
Anne Hathaway Fulfills the Boy Band Fantasy of Our Dreams in ‘The Idea of You’
Happy World Book Day, readers, writers, and shark fans! To celebrate, we're sharing a fun book that will be available to watch early this May. Our Editor-in-Chief was invited to attend an early viewing event of the film adaptation of Robinne Lee's 2017 romantic...
The Game of 2,000 Words & Other Tips from R.L. Stine
Happy Tuesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! We love Motivation Mondays and Tuesday Tips around here, so today, we thought we'd share an interesting series of tips from Goosebumps YA horror author R.L. Stine. We recently sat in on an interview between some of the...
The Feed
Lit Shark Reads Jennifer Givhan’s ‘Girl with Death Mask’ (Sealey Challenge #2)
Happy Tuesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! Welcome back for Day 2 of our take on The Sealey Challenge! If you missed Day 1, it's here. Founded by Nicole Sealey in 2016, The Sealey Challenge marked its tenth anniversary on August 1st... and the fact that it was...
Lit Shark Reads Betsy Andrews’ ‘The Bottom’ (Sealey Challenge #1)
Happy Sunday, readers, writers, and shark fans, and Happy August! (Augtober to those who celebrate, because WE DO.) For those who have been following along, our team had sort of a weird June and July, so we're kicking it up a few notches in August and declaring this...
Announcing: Lit Shark Magazine’s July Poem of the Month!
Happy Wednesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! This morning, I discovered we had a little bit of a social media mishap, in that our posts did not post, so we celebrated Shark and Ray Awareness Day (actually July 14th) a day late with all of you. I'm so glad to...
Announcing: Lit Shark Magazine’s May Poem of the Month!
Happy Thursday, readers, writers, and shark fans! I hope you are all having an absolutely FIN-TASTIC week! Issue 10 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition went live yesterday, and the paperback edition is ALREADY available on Amazon for those of you who are...
Announcing: Issue 10 of Lit Shark Magazine!
Happy Wednesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! I have MISSED you!! Most of you who submitted know this, but those of you who didn't know, or who might be coming to this issue unaware (welcome!), I went through a pretty big moment with my mental health mid-2025. I...
10 Top Titles
The Bottom by Betsy Andrews
The Bottom by Betsy Andrews Winner of the 42 Miles Press Poetry Prize 42 Miles Press: September 1, 2014, 55 pages ISBN-13: 978-0983074755 "Poetry. Winner of the 42 Miles Press Poetry Award. "'It's night on the blood-dimmed gulf between ethics and murk,' Andrews...
Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
Answers in the Pages by David Levithan Yearling Books: September 5, 2023, 192 pages ISBN-13: 978-0593484715 "A bold, timely novel about speaking up and coming out as parents lobby to ban a beloved book from the school curriculum by New York Times-bestselling author...
America Fantastica by Tim O’Brien
America Fantastica by Tim O'Brien Mariner Books: October 24, 2023, 464 pages ISBN-13: 978-0063318502 “Tim O'Brien is the one American author whose works I look forward to the most. His new novel’s ironic depiction of a post-Iraq war, mid-COVID, and mid-Trump world is...
Silent Came the Monster by Amy Hill Hearth
NOTE: We've included this book because it's an incredibly interesting read, but DO NOT let the title tell you everything. There is so much more to this book than its title and subtitle. We're here to end the stigma around sharks, not to perpetuate it, and despite its...
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Ecco Books: July 30, 2024, 368 pages ISBN-13: 978-0063204164 “Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing.”...
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz Celadon Books: May 3, 2022, 336 pages ISBN-13: 978-1250790750 "INSANELY READABLE." - Stephen King "Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA...
The Shark Handbook by Greg Skomal
The Shark Handbook: The Essential Guide for Understanding the Sharks of the World by Greg Skomal Cider Mill Press: July 6, 2021, 280 pages ISBN-13: 978-1646431052 "Dive deep into the world of sharks, the most fascinating and misunderstood marine animals on the planet,...
Shark by Paul De Gelder
Shark: Why We Need to Save the World’s Most Misunderstood Predator by Paul de Gelder For Shark Week, Seaspiracy, and Conservation Fans Mudlark Books: January 17, 2023, 240 pages ISBN-13: 978-0008529666 "From shark attack survivor to the shark’s biggest advocate, Paul...
Windfall by Erika Bolstad
Windfall by Erika Bolstad Sourcebooks: January 17, 2023, 320 pages ISBN-13: 978-1728246932 "At first, Erika Bolstad knew only one thing about her great-grandmother, Anna: she was a homesteader on the North Dakota prairies in the early 1900s before her husband...
Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King
Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King Scholastic Press: September 6, 2022, 272 pages ISBN-13: 978-1338680522 "Award-winning author Amy Sarig King takes on censorship and intolerance in a novel she was born to write. "When Mac first opens his classroom copy...