Michele Karlsberg brings a unique combination of skills to effectively carry out publicity/marketing campaigns for authors, organizations and film/theater
Michele Karlsberg brings a unique combination of skills to effectively carry out publicity/marketing campaigns for authors, organizations and film/theater professionals. She has also worn many hats in her 34-year book Publishing career. Michele was one of the founders of Amethyst Press. As curator of Outspoken, a nationwide LGBTQ Literary series, she helps new and established voices reach a wider
audience. Michele also served as Publisher of Bywater Books and published many award winning authors in those years. In 1989 along with the Publishing Triangle Michele launched Le***an and Gay Book Month. She was recently presented with the Publishing Triangle Leadership Award which along with Michael Denneny was the first co-chairs of the Triangle. She worked with David Rosen and The Book Of The Month Club/Quality Paperback Books on their GLBT Book Club Insight/Out along with the Triangle Classic series. She was also inducted in the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall of Fame in New Orleans, LA. She produced Holland America cruise lines first BOOK EXPO along with Olivia Travel. In 2010 she produced BACK 2 BACK at the St George Theater in NY with Lily Tomlin and Kate Clinton She is the author of Self Publishing GLBT Books (1989) and is the co-editor of To Be Continued and To Be Continued: Take Two (1998). Her non-fiction piece entitled The Isle Of Staten will appear in the book Love, Christopher Street. (Chelsea Street Editions). Her column WORDS appears in the San Francisco Bay Times. Michele has won the Publishing Triangle Leadership Award, Community Health Action Advocacy Award, Lambda Literary Foundation Publishing Professional Award, One Island/One Pride Award. The Publishing Triangle established its Leadership Award in 2002, specifically to honor contributions to LGBTQ literature by those who are not primarily writers, such as editors, agents, booksellers, and institution. As of 2023 tis award will now be known as the Michele Karlsberg Leadership Award,
Her activism includes working with many organizations but not limited to CHASI, Lambda Literary Foundation, Soulforce, The Publishing Triangle, GLAAD, New York City GLBT Center, Gay Men's Health Crisis, Project Hospitality, SAGE, Helping Our Women and God's Love We Deliver. She is most proud of her dedication to building community.
11/11/2025
Find an interesting way to use the words in a sentence without using the actual words.
Late:
Silent:
Ugly:
Traditional:
Extra:
Want to learn more about writing fiction? Why not look into joining our supportive community of writers. https://www.goldencrownliterarysociety.org/education
The Golden Crown Literary Society's Writing Academy is a hands-on educational service that allows authors of sapphic and WLW literature to learn the craft of writing.
11/11/2025
New Booker Prize for Kids
Ever since publishers Tom Maschler and Graham C. Greene brought the Booker Prize into being in 1969, backed by conglomerate Booker, McConnell, authors have been awarded with prizes and renown for works of contemporary fiction each year. Judges of the literary works are selected annually by the Booker Prize Foundation, aiming in their selections to find five individuals who, though experienced in many different professional spheres, operate with a natural synergy as a....
The highly acclaimed Booker Prizes just made a new addition to their awards, and it’s all to do with children’s literature! Read on for all the details.
11/11/2025
A Conversation With Atwood on Life
At 86, she’s a literary seer and saint – and queen of the Canadian resistance. So what does the writer make of our dystopian world?
‘From (finally) being given the Booker prize to the day her partner died’: an exclusive extract from Margaret Atwood’s memoir
Lisa Allardice
Sat 1 Nov 2025 02.00 EDT
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Margaret Atwood is doing her grocery shopping in her local supermarket in Toronto, and it is taking longer than usual. This is not because The Handmaid’s Tale author turns 86 this month, but because she is checking the ....
At 86, she’s a literary seer and saint – and queen of the Canadian resistance. So what does the writer make of our dystopian world?
11/11/2025
Valuing Books as Art
When you’ve spent your whole adult life working in and around book publishing you get used to hearing that people don’t read anymore and that the industry is on its last legs. There is always a crisis. In August it was reported that reading for pleasure has declined by 40 percent over the last 20 years. But pleasure reading has been on a decline for ages: the Victrola, then the talkies, then .....
When you’ve spent your whole adult life working in and around book publishing you get used to hearing that people don’t read anymore and that the industry is on its last legs. There is always a cri…
11/07/2025
Informative Panel last night - Publishing 101 Publishing Triangle
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Michele Karlsberg shows how ordinary people make extraordinary contributions to their communities. Her philosophy is simple: “It is our giving that makes us strong, not our receiving.” Bottom line, she loves what she does. She is grateful for her beloved mentors, some of whom are Nancy Bereano, Sasha Alyson, Barbara Grier, Richard Labonte, Carol Seajay, Roz Parr who helped her gain knowledge and confidence in the book publishing industry.
She has worn many hats in her twenty-nine year career.
As a publicist, she brings a unique combination of skills to effectively carry out publicity/marketing campaigns for authors, organizations, events, comedians, musicians and film/theater professionals. Her list of clients has included Katherine Forrest, Felice Picano, Kate Clinton, Stephen Fry, Jewelle Gomez, Assotto Saint, Dorothy Allison, Martin Duberman, Judy Grahn and Minnie Bruce Pratt to name a few. From her home office stateside, Michele represented many International Publishing companies: Spinifex Press (Australia), Second Story Press (Canada), Bruno Gmunder (Germany) and Creation Books (UK). She generously speaks at many conferences about the business of publishing, publicity and marketing. When she gets to share what she knows about marketing and publicity in the world of publishing, she is one happy woman.
She is one of the founders/publishers of Amethyst Press, home of groundbreaking authors Dennis Cooper, Kevin Killian, Mark Ameen, Stan Leventhal and Patrick Moore. She is a strong advocate for independent booksellers and worked with Carol Seajay on the Feminist Bookstore Network. She is a curator of Outspoken, a nationwide LGBTQI literary series that helps new and established voices reach a wider audience. As publisher at Bywater Books, she published many award winning authors.
She is an innovator and in 1989 along with the Publishing Triangle, Michele launched Le***an and Gay Book Month. Along with Michael Denneny she was the first co-chair of the Publishing Triangle and is still active today. She worked with The Book Of The Month Club/Quality Paperback Books to launch their LGBT Book Club InsightOut along with the Triangle Classic series.
She is a passionate advocate for the Pride Center on Staten Island, whether it was to help supply books to build their library, participate in the LGBTQI Pride celebrations, helping build visibility for the Pride Center or helping other LGBTQI people in need. In 1991 she was part of the team that opened the Pat Parker/Vito Russo Library at the NYC LGBTQI Community Center. For many years she also worked with the Astraea Writers Awards and The Le***an Herstory Archives.
She is a producer:she produced Holland America Cruise Lines’ first BOOK EXPO along with Olivia Travel. In 2010 she produced BACK 2 BACK at the St George Theater in NY with Lily Tomlin and Kate Clinton. She is most proud of producing events to honor the passing of Audre Lorde, Melvin Dixon, Stan Leventhal and John Preston.
As literary executor for Assotto Saint, Roy Gonsalves and Stan Leventhal, Michele manages their creative works for publication today.
Michele is a planner; she has been instrumental in planning the programming of many conferences and festivals such as OUTWRITE, Saints and Sinners, San Francisco Book Festival, BookExpo America, In Our Own Write, Behind Our Masks, GCLS, Readers and Writers and the Gay Games Cultural Festival.
She is an author; her non-fiction piece entitled The Isle Of Staten appears in the book Love, Christopher Street (Chelsea House Editions). Her WORDS column appears monthly in the San Francisco Bay Times. She wrote Self Publishing LGBTQI Books and is the co-editor of the Lambda Literary Award finalist To Be Continued and To Be Continued: Take Two (Firebrand Books).
She is an awardee: Publishing Triangle Leadership Award. Community Health Action Advocacy Award. Saints and Sinners Literary Hall Of Fame. One Island/One Pride Award from the S.I. LGBT Community Center.
When Michele is not focusing on the visibility of the LGBTQI community she persists to resist the current administration.
