Literary

I've participated in the "literary industry" (so to speak) in some capacity since the late 1990s. This survey of my history groups by subject, with subjects presented in roughly chronological order.

Journalism

I cut my teeth as a student journalist at Western Michigan University, 1998-2005. I had started at the Western Herald as a string journalist, writing occasional opinion columns. Then I spent two years as the opinion editor, editing columns and recruiting and training columnists. I left for half a year, then came back for a stint as the paper's copy chief before coming back in the spring of 2004 as the editor in chief – a post I held until January 2005.

The Herald in those days was a rare bird: We were an entirely self-funded (through display and classified advertising) paper, running four broadsheet issues each week with an additional weekly tabloid supplement. Our average daily print circulation was 12,500. We operated with no university oversight or prior review; we even leased our office space at fair market value. It was an incredible training opportunity.

Freelance Writing and Editing

After I left the Herald, I eventually picked up several writing and editing gigs, including with Demand Media (now Leaf Group), DotDash Meredith (now People Inc), and Digital Brands. That period ran roughly 2008 to 2021.

At Demand Media, I started as a content writer and eventually became a content editor. My scores were sufficient that I eventually became one of two contracted experts for the company's technology vertical, and I supported the company's managing editors by – for a time – vetting and hiring all new contract writers and editors across all verticals. I participated in content strategy and executed certain special projects, including scripting work for a series of white-labeled content-marketing videos.

At DotDash Meredith, I started doing renovation work for the then-newly-acquired About.com. I eventually channeled into the tech vertical, where I was a full-time renovation editor for Lifewire.com until the pandemic wiped us out in mid 2021.

At Digital Brands, I ghost-wrote all the interview-style blog posts coordinated by the site's top editors – one or two a week for roughly a year.

Publishing

I've been engaged in publishing in some form since 2014, when a group of five friends and I launched Caffeinated Press. That company published a well-regarded literary journal (The 3288 Review), an anthology (Brewed Awakenings), and more than a dozen books. I ran the editorial division, served as CEO, and oversaw our internship partnership with Aquinas College.

Caffeinated Press closed in December 2019 – the partners agreed that we were too big to run as a volunteer effort, and too small to afford appropriately paid staff.

After the pandemic, I launched Lakeshore Literary and co-edited The Lakeshore Review. Lakeshore Literary was not well-positioned to succeed; I closed the company in the spring of 2024. But our lit journal was a success!

In 2025, the Lakeshore Literary Foundation laid plans to return to the publishing of a literary journal and an anthology program starting in early 2026.

Writing

In addition to the (literally) hundreds of opinion columns and news stories I wrote for the Herald and the (literally) thousands of short-form service journalism pieces I wrote for Demand Media and DotDash Meredith and Digital Brands, I've seen other work hit the market:

• The Diction Dude Essential Guide to Getting Started as a Professional Writer – book, released in 2020.
• "Conversion Therapy," a novelette released in the Division by Zero anthology series curated by the Mi-Fi Writers.
• "Providence," a novelette released in the Brewed Awakenings anthology.
• "A Moment of Clarity," a personal essay released in Christ's Body, Christ's Wounds edited by Eve Tushnet and published by Cascade Press.
• "Interpenetrated Design," a peer-reviewed entry into the prestigious Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods, edited by Paul Lavrakas.
• "Inclusive Language," an essay included in America Now, edited by Robert Atwan.
• The Morris Lincoln essays, a series of longer-form creative non-fiction included in both The 3288 Review and The Lakeshore Review.

Here's what's keeping me busy as of the beginning of 2026, from a non-fiction perspective:

• Memoir of a Literary Nobody – a perspective on writing and publishing in the indie space, with brief memoir pieces introducing a deeper lesson about being successful as a writer on your own terms
• Delivering MIRACLES – "MIRACLES" is an acronym framework for assessing individual projects and a project portfolio under the rubric of a Quality Management program
• Ludatory Ethics – an interdisciplinary perspective about moral theory that's inspired by both the play patterns of early childhood and the game theory of modern economics

From a fiction perspective, here's what's hot:

• The Jordan Sanders mysteries. This is a collection of detective mysteries set in West Michigan and featuring P.I. Jordan Sanders and his loose band of associates – Gabriel, his sometimes lover; Susanna, a detective with the Grand Rapids Police Department; and Alexandra, a physician and forensic consultant.
  • Sanctuary – college students appear to be falling into a cult, but there's a more sinister game afoot
  • A Confluence of Trinkets – a brazen but amateurish theft at a convention prompts questions of what it means to be a man and a father
  • The Catfish in the Shallows – a murder connects to a seedy underground where flesh and power are the coin of the realm
• A series of flash (or very short) fiction that's been polished and are ready to be submitted whenever I get over my cold feet: The Seventh Beer, Crash, Ashes of Another Life, Regret, Impulse Control, By the Dawn's Early Light, Here, The Day.

On my "cold WIP" list – stuff that I've started and for which I've made material progress, but is presently on ice with no return-to-work date set:

• The Bear of Rosebriar Creek – a literary novel exploring four radically dissimilar people figuring out life, the universe, and everything together in small-town northern Michigan
• The Forty Strategies – a series of philosophical essays about how people approach the world, interact with others, care for themselves, and
• Six Lost Souls – a literary novel about one young woman's drive to find her biological family, and the heavy costs that her intervention imposes on her newfound siblings
• Aiden's Wager – a wealthy young man fallen from grace is targeted by a former rival who wants to break him emotionally and sexually, but when he's allowed an escape, will he take it?

Bookselling

In February 2023, I opened Jason's Books & Coffee, Inc. – a used bookstore in Wyoming, Michigan. The bookstore until 2026 had been largely a part-time hobby business. But over the years, I've added titles and developed a regular customer base and found that I really, really like being an indie bookseller.

Convening and Advocacy

I've spoken at many a literary conference – from small ones like the MiFi Writers Conference, to bigger events like the UntitledTown Book and Author Festival in Green Bay, WI.

Once upon a time, I sat on the board of the Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters, which we rechristened Write616. It was a clever idea; a 501c3 writers' center that focused on events in a former bookstore maintained by GLCL's founder. When she sold the building, Write616 lost its purpose and the group voluntarily dissolved a year or so later. But while on the board, I was honored to serve as the financial officer for a Michigan Humanities Council grant ("Writers Squared") that brought highly regarded writers with regional exposure together in Grand Rapids for a night of dialogue between themselves and their audiences.

In 2023, I founded Lakeshore Literary Foundation as a way to promote "the professional growth of authors and poets within the Great Lakes region by supporting community-led programs that nurture the craft of writing, bolster industry acumen, and connect literary creatives with new audiences." That's a lot of words. In a practical sense, the LLF sponsors the West Michigan Author Alliance (a collection of nearly 100 writers), the Grand River Writing Tribe (a series of stable critique groups), and the Holland Literary Festival (a celebration of books and authors on the lakeshore).

Also in 2023, I joined the board of the Midwest Independent Publishers Association, and in 2025 took over for a two-year term as board chair. Under my watch, MiPA has focused on shoring up its internal infrastructure while focusing more strongly on building relationships with regional bookseller groups and promoting more in-person activities.

A Biography

Jason Gillikin is the executive director of the Lakeshore Literary Foundation and president of the Midwest Independent Publishers Association. He is an experienced writer, journalist, editor, and publisher. He is editor of The Lakeshore Review and has seen his work published in many places both online and in print. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and with his fiancé takes care of a large menagerie of animals ranging in size from horses to mice. Find him online at jegillikin.com/literary.