Lit Shark Magazine is a celebration of marine life, conservation, & inclusive, accessible literature for all ages. We also offer a PAID Poem of the Month Contest, and we're starting a little sister magazine called Lit Pup Magazine for children and teen writers.

Lit Shark is a welcoming & inclusive space for all individuals who call themselves a writer or dream of being one. All ages, backgrounds, publishing histories, & identities are welcome. With two literary magazines for aspiring & established writers to submit to, book reviews, author interviews, resources for writers to publish their full-length books, & resources to learn more about the craft of writing, this is a friendly community to all who wish to participate and succeed in the literary community.

The Shark community is also conservation-friendly & aims to educate its readers more about marine life & to make a tangible difference to the community “under the sea.” With weekly shark facts, opportunities to submit ocean-themed work, teaching resources about conservation efforts, creative participation in Shark Week, and the Editor-in-Chief’s other local endeavors in her coastal community, the publication wants to be a fun and creative resource for sustainable outreach.

Everyone, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, literary background, identity, or community, is welcome to submit! We are an inclusive, loving, and welcoming space, and we encourage you to become a part of our shiver (a body of sharks), the Lit Shark Community.

Flash fiction meets speculative worlds. Science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, futuristic—anything that transcends reality in very short form.

Speculative Magazines Looking for Flash Fiction

Online publications putting forward exceptional short stories for Best of the Net.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

A targeted resource for short story placements with potential for Pushcart recognition.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Best Microfiction, edited by Meg Pokrass and Gary Fincke, celebrates the art of the extremely brief narrative. These publications have editorial teams with particular sensitivity to the craft.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Microfiction

Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Publications that nominate work for this respected anthology series founded in 2015 by Tara Masih to celebrate fiction under 1,000 words.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Small Fictions

A comprehensive guide to journals that regularly nominate work for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Explore the most competitive speculative fiction literary magazines this year. These magazines are revered in the fiction world for their editorial rigor.

Most Competitive Speculative Fiction Magazines This Year

Check out the all-time most popular speculative fiction literary magazines. These publications have a long-standing reputation for quality speculative fiction.

Most Popular Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

Digital publications nominating outstanding essays and creative nonfiction for Best of the Net.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Highlights publications that regularly put forward essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction for Pushcart consideration.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Online journals that specifically champion poetry for Best of the Net consideration.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Focuses specifically on poetry journals with established histories of Pushcart nominations.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Lit Shark Magazine

Issue 12 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK WEEK Edition
Submissions Due: July 1st

The theme for this issue: nature, marine life, and reactions to SHARK WEEK, SHARKFEST, and other similar documentaries (you can respond to documentaries and programs from ANY year; you’re not restricted to only this year’s programs!). Poetry responses, fiction inspired by fun facts, essays written based on newfound interests, etc. Put your spin on it, but make it fishy and sharktastic!

Issue 11 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK WEEK  Edition will appear at the end of July 2025.

Lit Shark's Annual SHARK WEEK Edition

Lit Shark’s Poem of the Month Contest

Each month, we will consider poetry for our Poem of the Month feature, which will be published on the 15th of the following month (for example, submissions received throughout the month of September would be considered for October’s Poem of the Month, the winner appearing on October 15). Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis; they won’t be disqualified or ignored.

See full guidelines at https://litshark.com/submit-potm/
To submit, please email publishing@litshark.com. 

Additional Honorable Mentions may also be named!


Lit Shark's POEM OF THE MONTH Contest (PAID)

Issue 11 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK DOG Edition
Submissions Due: May 1st

If you’ve been with us for a little while, you may remember Issue 6 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK DOG Edition in August 2024, which was to honor those impacted by the XL Bully Ban in the UK and Wales. It grew into this incredible, heartfelt, vulnerable, raw, and deeply emotional issue, not just about the ban, but about those who feel misunderstood, misrepresented, and villainized, from underrepresented communities to the smallest of spiders. It remains one of my favorite issues, and I’m excited to bring it back this year. We’re still open, of course, to those impacted (in an ongoing sense) to the XL Bully Ban, and we will donate to those causes like we did for Issue 6, and we also want those who feel misrepresented to submit, as well. Nonfiction, stories, poetry, and photography that represent XL Bullies and other challenged breeds, similarly villainized animals like sharks and hyenas, spiders and bats, humans who feel less than seen and cared for, banned books for the pettiest of reasons, we want it all. 

Issue 11 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK DOG Edition will appear at the end of May 2026.

Lit Shark's Annual SHARK DOG Edition

Issue 13 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Spooky (TEETH) Edition
Submissions Due: October 1st

Spooky poems and chilling stories, dark retellings, campy horror and ghost stories, and shark tales that would make JAWS or THE MEG tremble. Send us your creepiest, coolest, and campiest! And since this Spooky edition will be our THIRTEENTH ISSUE EVER, bring us your best (worst?!), scariest, campiest, ridiculous! We’re so excited for this one. Our EIC may or may not be writing something in the vein of Goosebumps, but with sharks, just for this occasion. 

Issue 13 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Spooky (TEETH) Edition will appear on Halloween 2026.

Lit Shark's Annual Spooky (TEETH) Edition

Issue 14 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition<div></div><div>Submissions Open: November 1st, 2026</div><div>Submissions Due: January 3rd, 2027</div><div></div><div><br></div><div>Our first issue of the year is always our “general” issue in the sense that anything goes, and all will be considered. Priority is, of course, always given to marine- and nature-themed works, but all works are still considered. Just keep the graphic, sexual, and violent themes to the lighter side, given our overall audience.</div><div></div><div><br></div><div>Issue 14 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition will appear at the end of January 2027.</div>

Lit Shark Magazine: Issue 14 (General Call)

Issue 14 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition<div></div><div>Submissions Open: November 1st, 2026</div><div>Submissions Due: January 3rd, 2027</div><div><br></div><div></div><div></div><div>Our first issue of the year is always our “general” issue in the sense that anything goes, and all will be considered. Priority is, of course, always given to marine- and nature-themed works, but all works are still considered. Just keep the graphic, sexual, and violent themes to the lighter side, given our overall audience.</div><div></div><div></div><div>Issue 14 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition will appear at the end of January 2027.</div>

Issue 14 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition<div></div><div>Submissions Open: November 1st, 2026</div><div>Submissions Due: January 3rd, 2027</div><div><br></div><div></div><div></div><div>Our first issue of the year is always our “general” issue in the sense that anything goes, and all will be considered. Priority is, of course, always given to marine- and nature-themed works, but all works are still considered. Just keep the graphic, sexual, and violent themes to the lighter side, given our overall audience.</div><div><br></div><div></div><div></div><div>Issue 14 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition will appear at the end of January 2027.</div>

Lit Shark Magazine

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Lit Shark's Annual Spooky (TEETH) Edition

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