Dear Readers, Writers, and Shark Fans… This isn’t a post I ever thought I’d have to send… at least not anytime soon.

But as of right now, Lit Shark is going on hiatus throughout the rest of 2025.

I just spent the morning drafting emails to my team, to my writers, to my community, and questioning myself every step of the way.

This community has been so open, supportive, and loving since the beginning, so I’m going to be transparent: My mental and physical health are in shambles, and I need to remove a few things (quite frankly, as many things as possible) from my plate for a little while. With all of the steps involved in running the magazine, the monthly poetry contest, the website-specific content, and trying to launch a small imprint, I’m much more swamped than seaside these days, and I’m struggling.

I do my best to always do right by others and to put others first, but I have to admit to myself now that this is something that I need, even if I don’t want to provide it.

So, with that, I’m going to take the rest of 2025 off, with the tentative goal of trying to come back by January 11, 2026, which is Lit Shark’s third birthday. I’d love to publish Issues 10, 11, and 12 to “pick up where we left off” next year. But these are all wishes and dreams for now, not reality.

My goal for now is to heal and to send out a newsletter once per month. I’ll treat it like our old Deep Dive with Lit Shark where I’ll share a few calls that I’ve seen that might be of interest, some recent book and documentary suggestions (and I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this year’s Shark Week programming), and of course, with a tiny little update here and there about how I’m doing for those who might be eager, like me, to see Lit Shark get back on its feet (fins).

What to Expect Next:

Like I said above, I’d like to keep the website somewhat “active,” so you might see an occasional new book review on the site, or a documentary-related think piece, or something of that nature. I’ll also do my best to send this newsletter once a month to say hello, and I’ll make the content as valuable as possible so it’s not just another item in your inbox.

Also, obviously, all of our publications are still out there, too. We will not remove our digital issues of Lit Shark Magazine, Lit Pup Magazine, or our Poem of the Month broadsides. We still have our Lit Shark Shop, too, with everything we have available, and our magazine issues are available as paperback editions on Amazon. Even if we decide not to come back from the hiatus (sob), we will keep the website and the Amazon listings up, so that all of these amazing and fin-tastic publications do not disappear; I promise that with absolute certainty.

A Note to Those Who Submitted Work:

I’ve also emailed you separately, but just in case you didn’t receive it: I consider pieces that I received but did not yet consider to be effectively “withdrawn” from consideration at this time (for submissions to Lit Shark, Lit Pup, Poem of the Month, and the website) so you can feel free to submit them elsewhere. Also, if this was your first impression of Lit Shark, I am so deeply sorry, and I can also say that the experience here is not usually like this. I hope that you’ll try us again when there’s better light.

A Note to Those Who Were Accepted:

While I’d be more than happy to welcome you and your work back with open arms for our issues in 2026, I also understand that 1.) that might be too long of a wait before publication, and 2.) that the schedule is not guaranteed right now, making it less appealing to wait around. I also emailed you separately, but if you want to withdraw any accepted pieces, I’ll completely understand. When Lit Shark goes live again, I’ll reach out to everyone who was accepted to make sure they still want to go forward, just so I don’t falsely use someone’s work.

It’s Not “Goodbye.” It’s “Sea” You Soon.

I’m still a little in disbelief myself that I’m writing this message, sending these emails to different groups of writers, and responding to what I think will be the most frequently asked questions… But I think this is something that I have to do to get myself back on track. I love Lit Shark dearly, I adore the community that has gathered around it and made it home, and I’m grateful to be the Editor-in-Chief. As expansive and hard as the work is sometimes, I adore it and hope that after a little break, we can come back with flying colors.

Thank you all for being so understanding and supportive through everything over the years. I hope that you can be understanding through this, too, and come back for more in the not-too-distant future.

Hopefully More Soon,
McKenzie
Editor-in-Chief of Lit Shark