Earl Shores is an American author and photographer. Playland: Greetings From Ocean City, Maryland is his latest book. It was published in May of 2019 and recounts the summer Shores spent working at the Playland Amusement Park in Ocean City, Maryland. Playland has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and carries a 5-Star reader rating on Amazon.

Shores collection of surf stories Surf Lessons: Stories of Eastern Surfer also received critical acclaim, a landing at No. 11 on Surfdb.com’s list of Best Surf Books Published in 2016.

Without a doubt, Shores is best known for his trilogy of Electric Football books – The Unforgettable Buzz, Full Color Electric Football, and The Electric Football Wishbook.

The Buzz is a historical narrative of a U.S. toy company’s groundbreaking relationship with the NFL.

Full Color Electric Football then tells the story with Shores’ stunning color photos.

The Electric Football Wishbook completes the set by showing the evolution of Electric Football and sports games through the boomer-era Christmas catalog pages of Sears, Ward, and JC Penney.

Surfing is what inspired Shores to become a writer. It also launched his writing career. His work appeared regularly in Eastern Surf Magazine during the early 1990’s. (Thank you Dick Meseroll.) This experience with Eastern Surf gave Shores the confidence to take his writing beyond the world of surfing. As a result, his work has appeared in Highlights For Children, Sports Illustrated, and the Washington Post.