McKenzie Lynn Tozan

McKenzie Lynn Tozan (she/her/hers) lives and writes in Europe with her family (originally from the Midwest). In addition to being the Editor-in-Chief of Lit Shark Magazine and the Banned Book Review, she is a novelist, poet, and book reviewer. She received her MFA in Poetry from Western Michigan University and her BA in English/BS in Education from Indiana University South Bend, where she began her work in publishing. Her poems have appeared in Rogue Agent, Whale Road Review, Young Ravens Review, The Birds We Piled Loosely, and Encore Magazine, among others; and her book reviews and essays have appeared in The Rumpus, Green Mountains Review, Memoir Mixtapes, The Life Collective, Her Journal, Motherly, and more. When not writing, she enjoys reading, appreciating nature, and spending time with her husband and three children.
Great White Sharks & Black Friday Weekends!

Great White Sharks & Black Friday Weekends!

Happy Friday, readers, writers, and shark fans! To those who celebrate, I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving! And if you're like us and doing something this weekend instead, we hope you have a wonderful time. With Thanksgiving also comes historically the biggest...

Motivation Monday: Wear Your Art on Your Sleeve

Motivation Monday: Wear Your Art on Your Sleeve

Happy Monday, readers, writers, and shark fans! We hope you had a wonderful weekend! We've all heard the idiom about someone "wearing their heart on their sleeve," and for this Motivation Monday, I wanted to talk about the importance of being vulnerable, at least...

Welcome Back to Lit Shark’s Friday Feed!

Welcome Back to Lit Shark’s Friday Feed!

Happy Friday, readers, writers, and shark fans! And welcome back to Lit Shark's Friday Feed! We appreciate you being patient as we get back on our "fins," and we hope you've enjoyed this week's wave of new content. True to our past Friday Feed editions, we have a few...

Join the Lit Shark Team

Join the Lit Shark Team

Helloooooo, readers, writers, and shark fans! Welcome or Welcome BACK to Lit Shark Magazine! I'm so grateful you're interested in writing for us and/or potentially joining our team. We're gradually growing our team with Assistant Editors and other positions, so if...

Welcome to Our First Friday Feed of 2024!

Welcome to Our First Friday Feed of 2024!

Happy Friday, readers, writers, and shark fans! And welcome back to the Friday Feed! I'm so excited to get this series back up and running. If you're interested in a more in-depth version of the Friday Feed each week, including writing/submission tips,...

Last Chance to Submit for 2023!

Last Chance to Submit for 2023!

The day is here! If you haven't submitted for December's Poem of the Month contest of Issue 4 of Lit Shark Magazine, the final issue of our inaugural year, this is your last chance! Because we're reminding you so late in the date on December 4, we WILL consider your...

Creative Highlight: “Listing”

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...

Good News, Notebooks, & This Week’s Friday Feed

Good News, Notebooks, & This Week’s Friday Feed

Hi, readers, writers, and shark fans! Happy Friday! Our Editor-in-Chief is pretty sick, so we're going to keep this one short, sweet, and to the point. Here's what to expect: Paperback Editions Available of All of Our Magazine Issues Poem of the Month Broadside Series...

Monday Munchies (AKA: A Belated Friday Feed!)

Monday Munchies (AKA: A Belated Friday Feed!)

Happy Monday, readers, writers, and shark fans! And welcome to last week's belated Friday Feed! There were no technical difficulties this week, thank goodness, but the youngest in our little Shiver team DID have a third birthday! Our original team was made up of...

Lit Shark Issue #1 Out Now!

Lit Shark Issue #1 Out Now!

Happy Saturday, readers, writers, and shark fans, and happy 1st of July! Today is an incredibly special day in the Lit Shark Community, because Issue 1 is finally available! After a variety of hang-ups and setbacks, we're so excited to share Issue 1, complete with a...

Writing Prompt: The Missing Piece

Writing Prompt: The Missing Piece

Happy Wednesday, writers and shark fans! I hope your week is everything you’ve hoped for. In the meantime, it’s Writing Prompt Wednesday! Every Wednesday going forward, we will share a writing prompt, as well as the Editor-in-Chief’s (EIC’s) response to the prompt and...

Lit Pup Seeking Submissions for Issue #1!

Lit Pup Seeking Submissions for Issue #1!

Hi to our younger readers, writers, artists, shark lovers---and your parents/guardians/family/mentors! Thank you so much for supporting Lit Pup by being here. We're so happy you're here and are interested in working with us in this early part of your creative,...

Lit Shark Seeking Submissions for Issue #1!

Lit Shark Seeking Submissions for Issue #1!

Hi readers, writers, and shark lovers! Thank you so much for supporting Lit Shark. We're so happy to hear that you're potentially interested in sharing your work with us and contributing to this growing, shiver community. Please read below for details about how to...