Shore Stories is the acclaimed first anthology of short fiction, essays and poems about the Jersey Shore. The book takes the reader on a literary journey along this coast and captures the diversity and the emotions attached to this beloved stretch of sandy beaches, bays, boardwalk, and towns. More than 40 short stories, essays and poems, along with 47 photographs, chronicle almost every destination in this renowned region. The contributors include nationally celebrated authors (John McPhee, Gay Talese, and Robert Pinksy, among others) as well as talented writers whose work promises future acclaim. A great beach book in any season, this book can also transport readers to the Jersey Shore wherever they may be.

Real People. Real Stories. The Real Jersey Shore.

Jobless and divorced, Maddy Bainbridge, along with her four-year-old daughter, returns to the Jersey Shore to live with her mother, where she is faced with family turmoil, and an unexpected romance with Aidan O'Malley, an ex-firefighter.

Coastal cuisine from Asbury Park to Cape May, with 50 recipes from your favorite beachside restaurants and farm-fresh New Jersey ingredients for a perfect taste of summer. The warm sand. The salt air. The boardwalk. The food! Summer at the Jersey Shore is unforgettable no matter which seaside destination is yours. And with The Jersey Shore Cookbook, you can have a taste of summer all year long. It features 50 recipes contributed by well-loved shore town restaurants, bakeries, markets, and more. From fresh oysters, scallops, and tilefish to Garden State tomatoes, corn, and blueberries, the perfect New Jersey ingredients shine. Featuring favorites from: Asbury Park Atlantic City Avalon Bay Head Beach Haven Belmar Bradley Beach Brielle Cape May Cape May Point Harvey Cedars Highlands Keyport Lavallette Leeds Point Long Branch Manasquan Monmouth Beach Normandy Beach Ocean City Point Pleasant Beach Sea Bright Sea Girt Sea Isle City Ship Bottom South Seaside Park Stone Harbor Wildwood Wildwood Crest Selected Recipes: BREAKFASTS The Brunchwich: Pork Roll The Committed Pig, Manasquan Grilled Jersey Peaches with Greek Yogurt and Granola Lasolas Market, Normandy Beach STARTERS AND SIDES Allagash Steamers Marie Nicole’s, Wildwood Crest Oysters Gratineé Fratello’s Restaurant, Sea Girt SOUPS AND SALADS Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup Langosta Lounge, Asbury Park Beach Plum Farm Salad The Ebbitt Room, Cape May MAIN COURSES Golden Tilefish Sandwich Joe’s Fish Co., Wildwood Lobster Thermidor Knife and Fork Inn, Atlantic City Spaghetti and Crabs Joe Leone’s Italian Specialties, Point Pleasant Beach DESSERTS Blueberry Cobbler Talula’s, Asbury Park Key Lime Pie Inlet Café, Highlands

A woman must face the truth about her past in this luminous, evocative novel of parents and children, guilt and forgiveness, memory and magical thinking. Olivia Reed was fifteen when she left her hometown of Ocean Vista on the Jersey Shore. Two decades later, divorced and unstrung, she returns with her teenage daughter, Carrie, and nine-year-old son, Daniel, recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Distracted by thoughts of the past, Olivia fails to notice when Daniel disappears from her side. Her frantic search for him sparks memories of the summer of 1987, when she exploded out of the cocoon of her mother’s fierce, smothering love and into a sudden, full-throttle adolescence, complete with dangerous new friends, first love, and a rebellion so intense that it utterly recharted the course of her life. Olivia’s mother, Myla, was a practicing psychic whose powers waxed and waned along with her mercurial moods. Myla raised Olivia to be a guarded child, and also to believe in the ever-present infant ghosts of her twin sisters, whom Myla took care of as if they were alive—diapers, baby food, an empty nursery kept like a shrine. At fifteen, Olivia saw her sisters for the first time, not as ghostly infants but as teenagers on the beach. But when Myla denied her vision, Olivia set out to learn the truth—a journey that led to shattering discoveries about herself and her family. Sarah Cornwell seamlessly weaves together the past and the present in this riveting debut novel, as she examines the relationships between mothers and daughters, and the powerful forces of loss, family history, and magical thinking.

A mother and her two daughters spend a summer grappling with heartbreak, young love, and the weight of secrets in this “deeply felt family saga” (Entertainment Weekly) hailed as “one of the best beach reads of all time” (Today). Brian and Margot Dunne live year-round in Seaside, just steps away from the bustling boardwalk, with their daughters Liz and Evy. The Dunnes run a real estate company, making their living by quickly turning over rental houses for tourists. But the family’s future becomes precarious when Brian develops a brain tumor, transforming into an erratic version of himself. Amidst the chaos and new caretaking responsibilities, Liz still seeks out summer adventure and flirting with a guy she should know better than to pursue. Her younger sister Evy works in a candy shop, falls in love with her friend Olivia, and secretly adopts the persona of a middle-aged mom in an online support group, where she discovers her own mother’s vulnerable confessions. Meanwhile, Margot faces an impossible choice driven by grief, impulse, and the ways that small-town life has shaped her. Falling apart is not an option, but she can always pack up and leave the beach behind. “An emotional family drama...with endearing characters and deep insights” (Glamour), The Shore is a heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting novel infused with humor about finding sisterhood, friendship, and love in a time of crisis. This big-hearted novel examines the grit and hustle of running a small business in a tourist town, the ways we connect with strangers when our families can’t give us everything we need, and the comfort found in embracing the pleasures of youth while coping with unimaginable loss.