Happy Wednesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! We have some catching up to do!

First of all, Happy National Book & Rose Day! Today’s the day to share a book and a rose with that beloved reader in your life, whether it’s you or someone else. My husband ordered me a hardback copy of Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, and there are the most gorgeous roses growing in a gigantic bush in front of our house, so I don’t even have to cut them!

Happy belated Earth Day! I’m putting together a little at-home patio garden so I can save some money on vegetables and spices, and I’m going to try try try to grow a lemon tree.

Finally, Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate, whether it’s Easter Sunday for you or Easter Sunday AND Monday. It was a beautiful weekend weather-wise here, and I hope the sunlight was bright wherever you are, too.

Now, we have so many fun announcements today! From Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition to our first book publication, we have a lot going on, and we hope you’ll be as excited as we are!

Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine Is Out Now!

FIRST OF ALL—first of all—it was a long winter this year, and it felt like a decade went by between our last issue of 2024 and our Winter Issue of 2025, but to us, it was seriously worth the wait. While it was technically a “general issue,” Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition contains smart, propulsive, introspective, and deeply emotional pieces about us, our deepest thoughts and desires, our place in the world, and most of all, our observations about the creatures around us—from our feathered friends in our own backyards to the greats of the ocean—and the space they’re sharing with us. It’s a gorgeous selection of great writing, and I can’t wait to hear what your favorite pieces from the issue are.

Without further ado, you can now order your copy of the paperback edition of Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition on Amazon. 

Sidenote: We’ve received some messages from concerned consumers who do not want to support Amazon, which we totally understand. Unfortunately, at this time, Amazon is the most cost-effective option that small publications and indie authors have access to. If you want to support Lit Shark, our issues are always available as free PDFs on our website, and you reading these issues and sharing them with others is helpful! And if you want to financially help us without helping Amazon, we now have a Donation page. 

Also, you’re welcome to submit to Lit Shark Magazine and to our Poem of the Month Contest at any time! Having a steady flow of submissions is also endlessly helpful to us and keeps us swimming and thriving.

In Case You Missed It, The First Mini-Issue Is Out, Too!

In case you previously missed it, our first mini-issue of Lit Pup Magazine recently came out, and the second mini-issue will appear in May, followed by the first full-length annual issue of Lit Pup Magazine coming at the end of June 2025.

We had such a fun time putting together this first mini-issue, and we were so impressed by the quality and depth of the works we curated from writers of the age of five all the way up to professionals in the industry. This first mini-issue is just over 70 pages and includes original poetry and artwork by children, teens, and creators of work that is suitable for youth audiences. At the back of the issue, there are also activity pages included that are suitable for all ages: creative writing prompts, coloring pages of various intensity, suggestions for nature activities, and bookmarks! Every issue will contain new activity pages, so it’ll be a fun experience of writing, art, and getting outside.

Lit Pup is BY youth writers and FOR youth writers, meaning that children, teens, and young adult writers and artists are always welcome to submit, as are professional writers of children’s, middle-grade, young adult, and age-appropriate poetry, and the range of the writing and art has been astounding.

There is still time to submit to our second mini-issue of Lit Pup Magazine, as well as our full-length collection, so please check out our first mini-issue (a free PDF, just like our Lit Shark issues), and send us something magical!

Lit Shark Presents: The Shiver Collective, Our Book Imprint 

Okayyy, *drum roll*, this is the BIG announcement of the day: I am so pleased to announce that Lit Shark, in addition to publishing Lit Shark Magazine, Lit Pup Magazine, our Poem of the Month Contest, and our website content, Lit Shark now includes The Shiver Collective – Lit Shark’s book imprint, which will publish books of poetry, fiction, memoir, and nonfiction that celebrate and examine nature, ecology, and the human condition.

We’re interested especially in expressive, lyrical, and nature-focused poetry, literary and ambitious fiction, slow burn and creepy-crawly horror, and insightful, well-researched nonfiction and memoirs rooted in nature, travel, conservation, the body, and the mind.

We’re officially opening our first reading period on September 1, 2025, but we’re offering an “early bird” reading period now (deadline: June 1, 2025). Up to five books will be selected during this time. If you have something ready that you’d like to share with us, please see the Shiver Collective’s submission guidelines to get started! 

Our First Book: End with a Kiss

We’re also excited to share that the first of five books has already been selected. Helga Kidder, who has appeared in several issues of Lit Shark Magazine, will be our first published poet with her full-length collection, End with a Kiss. It’s a beautiful, striking collection of nature and intimacy, and it creates a delicate balance between the vivid, the subtle, and the sultry.

It’s honestly just stunning. We cannot wait to share it with you in late summer 2025.

Also, A New and Fun Segment!

I’ve seen a lot of writers including a little “What” section in their newsletters, and I think they’re so fun! This “What” section will be in our future Friday Feeds and Lit Shark Deep Dives, but I thought I’d share the first one here, just for fun.

What I’m Writing—I just admitted in a Substack note this morning that I’m struggling a little bit right now, but at the beginning of this month as a part of National Poetry Month, I committed to writing 30 Poems in 30 Days. I wrote poems for the first 7 days and then fell off for a variety of reasons. In the next few days, I’m going to write as many poems as I can to get as close to that goal as I can. If you’d like to write along with me, or if you’d like to read my poems, they’re out there!

What I’m Reading—I finished Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest Hunger Games novel by Suzanne Collins, a few days ago, and I’m still processing and grieving. So many theories and connecting points and observations are spinning around in my head. I love this series, but as gut-wrenching as this one was, it’s my favorite. I’m looking forward to rereading the whole series in chronological order soon. Since I finished it, I started reading Walk Like a Girl by Claudia Esnouf, which strikes a lot of the same notes as Wild by Cheryl Strayed, and I also am looking forward to reading Ali K. Mulford’s “Prickle Island Zoo,” an Australian zoo rom-com series, after that (well, it’s the first four books, and the fifth book is coming in January 2025, but I’m excited to read and share those for now). I’m excited to do a lot of reading and to share all of these books with you soon.

What I’m Watching—I’ve been leaning pretty hard into comfort watching in the last week, so we’ve been rerunning episodes of Superstore, and I’ve been marathoning musicals and Julie and Julia. And like everyone else, I’m excited to watch “The Digital Resurrection” of the Titanic (if you need proof of my love of the Titanic and neurodivergent fixation on it, I still have the original VHS collector’s boxset with a certified film clip included, and I’ve also listed a bunch of Titanic-ajacent stories on Lit Shark’s Recommended Titles page), and I’m also excited to watch the new banned book documentary, “Banned Together.”

What I’m Doing (AKA: What Action Am I Taking? How Am I Walking the Walk?)—Like we’ve said on Lit Shark before, not every gesture has to be huge to make a difference! Like I said at the beginning of this post, I get to enjoy “Books and Roses Day” by smelling roses without actually cutting them, and I’m going to plant my own garden in the coming days. Also, the Easter Bunny helped me out this year by finding rain boots for all three of my children, so we can comfortably go out and explore while it’s raining; we can so easily teach our children that some weather is bad, when really, it just requires different clothing. They’re small efforts, but they’re helpful!

I also don’t have a lot of information about this yet, but I’m pursuing connections with a few different organizations that are taking important steps, like an international clean-up crew, a jeweler using all eco-friendly materials and broken shells (not the shells that make the best homes for our little wild friends), an eco-friendly clothing line that gives back to shark rescue efforts, and an educational institution where I could possibly, FINALLY, get certifications in marine biology, coral reef restoration, animal rescue, and whale watching! I don’t know if any of these connections will pan out, but I’m excited that I’ve found them, and I’m keeping my fingers and fins and mermaid tails crossed.

Happy National Books & Roses Day, Readers, Writers, and Shark Fans!
Thank You All for Reading Our Long Announcement!