Type Of Organization
Magazine-press-2
Mission Statement / Editorial Focus
We're a small press and literary journal focused on emerging talent native to the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada. "The Lakeshore Review" publishes three times annually, elevating short stories, poems, graphic art, and creative nonfiction that's crafted well and moves the soul. Our publishing wing offers three imprints specializing in fiction, poetry, and technical non-fiction. We support authors with a large event space and an in-house bookstore and cafe that features exclusively the best small-press talent.
Social Media Platforms Used
Twitter, Facebook
Is Your Group Affiliated With A University, Portal Or Other Agency?
no
Primary Editor/Contact Person
Jason Gillikin
Contact Title
President
Contact Email
Publishes
essays, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, art, gr_novel
Representative Authors
Lisa McNeilley, PhD
Submissions Policy
We accept unsolicited subs from the United States and any British Commonwealth countries. We publish in English only. Simultaneous but not multiple subs accepted. No reprints. No reading fees for Great Lakes-adjacent communities (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario) and a $3 fee for submitters outside of those communities. For our literary journal, we accept literary fiction, light genre fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, book reviews, and graphic art. For our publishing imprints, we accept literary fiction, genre fiction, poetry (full books), and technical non-fiction.
Accepts Unsolicited Submissions
Yes
Submission Guidelines URL
Simultaneous Submissions Accepted
yes
Reading Period
Year round
Reporting Time
1 - 2 weeks
Author Payments
royalties, copies
Number Of Paid Staff
4
Number Of Unpaid Staff
2
Year Founded
2021
Distributors
Ingram, Lakeshore Literary, others as titles suggest
E-distributors
Ingram, Lakeshore Literary, others as titles suggest
Name
Jason Gillikin
Title
President
How Did You Arrive At Your Current Position?
I was part of a five-person team that launched Caffeinated Press, which ran from 2014 to 2019. When we shut down CafPress, I missed the joy of discovering emerging talent, so I soft-launched Lakeshore Literary in 2021 and hard-launched in Jan 2022.
What Is The Staff Structure At Your Magazine/press?
The press itself is a lean operation, consisting of one full-time employee and several part-time/stipend colleagues and (usually) a handful of for-credit academic interns. Our triannual journal has two co-editors and a flex team of readers.
Do You Have Any Cover Letter Advice?
Letters should look like letters, even if they're pasted into a text box. An undiferentiated paragraph that's half generic logline and half bio isn't a cover letter, and yes -- we notice. The Chicago Manual of Style is your friend!
How Are Submissions Processed In Your Magazine/press?
By witchcraft! Which is code for, "we use a unified ticket-based submission platform." One of the more-senior team members weeds out the obvious spam then assigns content as necessary. We aim for fortnightly turnarounds on all submissions.
What Do You Look For In A Submission?
Competence. There's a trend afoot to try to be trendy, edgy, or more-enlightened-than-thou. But to be honest, we'd rather focus on the craft than the politics.
What Advice Do You Have For First-time Submitters?
Read the editorial guidelines, then read them again. Editors can tell when you're blindly shotgunning something versus submitting TO US, and that instinct rarely works in the submitter's favor.
Do You Have A Favorite Unsolicited Submission Discovery Or Anecdote?
In our "The 3288 Review" days, we were the first to publish an emerging author. She kept submitting more great stuff to us, which led to us publishing a series of connected stories set in the same space and time. Quite delightful!
Who Is Your Ideal Reader?
You are!
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