Peer Behind the Curtain!

Lakeshore Literary, Inc. was conceived in the spring of 2020. We soft-launched in early 2021 and hard-launched on January 3, 2022. We’re a three-imprint small press with a literary journal (The Lakeshore Review) and an anthology series (Surface Reflections); a distributor and retailer of books; and a literary events center.

We try to do three things, and do them well:

• Nurture Aspiring Writers: We believe that there’s a lot of talent hidden in our communities that never gets the support it deserves. We make our space available for writing, writers’ groups, occasional seminars, and events like poetry readings, to help writers enjoy a welcome place to practice their art.
• Publish Great Content: Our publishing wing covers several imprints focused on fiction, poetry, and technical non-fiction — all with traditional publishing contracts — and we celebrate short fiction through our thrice-yearly literary journal.
• Promote Emerging Talent: We promote great works from self-published authors and from other small presses through our distribution and retail marketplace. We retail directly from a bookstore and café located in our office building, as well as through non-exclusive distribution agreements with indie bookstores and a monthly literary subscription box.

Mission, Vision & Values

Mission. Lakeshore Literary introduces small-press talent to discerning readers and helps authors bring great content to market.

Vision. We will set a new standard for celebrating literary excellence on a local scale. We aim to create a framework for nurturing, publishing, and promoting emerging talent that can be replicated in other communities.

Values. We value transparency and boldness.

Our Editorial Perspective

Whether it’s a function of what we publish or what we choose to distribute and sell, Lakeshore Literary is guided by one overarching principle: what matters is the quality of the work. We therefore do not spend a lot of time issuing directives about what we do or don’t want to see, either in terms of subjects or of authors. Instead, we believe every work should stand on its own merit, independent of its author.

Leadership Team

Lakeshore Literary was founded by Jason Gillikin, who serves as the company’s president. Gillikin has worked in the publishing industry in some form for more than two decades, in roles ranging from “daily newspaper editor” to “columnist” to “renovation editor for national media companies.” He was one of the five co-founders of Caffeinated Press, which operated 2014 to 2019, and served as publisher of The 3288 Review.

The Lakeshore Review is co-edited by Gillikin and by Garrett Stack, PhD. Stack is an assistant professor of English at Ferris State University. At present, readers for the journal include Faith Gleasure, Allison Hawkins, and Lisa McNeilly, PhD.