MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, & PUBLICITY FOR WRITERS, BUSINESSES, & FILM/THEATRE PROFESSIONALS
For the Mainstream and LGBTQ+ markets
SERVICES
Michele Karlsberg brings a unique combination of skills to effectively carry out management and publicity/marketing campaigns for authors, organizations, businesses, and film/theater professionals. With 35 years of experience, Michele brings a unique blend of skills to empower authors, organizations, businesses, and film/theater professionals.
Michele recognizes the enduring power the written word holds. The solitary journey from an artist's mind to the page is just the beginning. Once your creation is complete, the challenge shifts to sharing your achievement with the world. Michele specializes in crafting and executing targeted campaigns, ensuring that your work receives the attention it deserves.
Whether you're an author, publisher, bookseller, or business owner, Michele is your dedicated partner in navigating the landscape of regional and national literary publicity campaigns. Emphasizing commitment and teamwork, she leverages her extensive network and strategic prowess to catapult your visibility to new heights. Michele's multifaceted approach encompasses local, regional, national, and international levels, utilizing well-honed tactics to promote books and elevate both author and publisher brands.
Michele takes pride in her meticulously cultivated lists, enriched with personal contacts and fortified media relationships developed over decades in the industry. By choosing Michele Karlsberg, you're not just gaining a publicity expert – you're forging a relationship that promises the highest visibility possible and the satisfaction that accompanies success.
CONSULTING
Collaborates with authors, performers, organizations, non-profits, and community groups to provide expert guidance on media outreach, platform expansion, and fostering media connections. Specialized proficiency in supporting self-published authors to craft polished and media-friendly products. Guides clients in generating original content within the realms of culture, lifestyle, and current events, facilitating placement in both print and online media.
L to R: Jewelle Gomez, Diane Sabin, Michele Karlsberg, Nancy Bereano, and Elisabeth Nonas
SEASONED
Michele Karlsberg Marketing marks 35 years of innovation, excellence, and literary impact. Michele is proud of her three-decade legacy of transformative marketing strategies and commitment to literary brilliance.
Michele Karlsberg with Felice Picano, Shawn Syms, Thomas Keith, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Martin Hyatt, Fay Jacobs, and Val McDermid
MEDIA RELATIONS
Engage in effective media outreach with our comprehensive services, encompassing media contact and follow-up, development of compelling press releases and cover letters, adept pitching strategies, securing editorial placements, and orchestrating impactful blog tours. Connect with leading reporters, editors, columnists, and producers to garner new publicity and ensure ongoing exposure for your endeavors.
Michele Karlsberg with Edmund White
MARKETING
Provide support across the spectrum of business activities, including product production, consumer marketing, advertising campaigns, direct marketing, business-to-business interactions, distribution strategies, establishing an online presence, and implementing grassroots campaigns.
Michele Karlsberg with Kate Clinton
MANAGEMENT
Suite of management services spans pre-and-post production, website, and social media management, submission of literary awards, Q&A development, outreach to independent booksellers and libraries, creation of book trailers and blogs, distribution of advanced reader copies, placement of pre-publication book reviews, community event bookings, meticulous event oversight, and beyond.
Michele Karlsberg with Lily Tomlin
REPRESENTATIVE PLACEMENTS
LA Review of Books
New York Times
The New Yorker
Lambda Literary
Minneapolis Star
Gay and Lesbian Review
Queer Forty
Lesbian News
Bay Area Reporter
Autostraddle
Washington Blade
Queerty
Channel Q
Queer Words Podcast
Women’s Review Of Books
Slate
Huffington Post
NPR
MSNBC
The Way Out
Channel Q
WNYC
WPIXNY
OUTTAKE Online- OUTTAKE Voices
I Love my Wife Podcast
If These Ovaries Could Talk Podcast
CSPAN
LOGO
HERE TV
OUT IN THE BAY TV
GAY USA TV
Amsterdam News
SELECT CLIENT LIST
Judy Grahn
Stephen Fry
Dorothy Allison
Jewelle Gomez
Urvashi Vaid
Bruce Lee
Lucy Jane Bledsoe
Lance Ringel
TOSOS
Jennifer Lee
Lesléa Newman
James Magruder
Vivian Vance
Michael H.Ward
Katherine Forrest
Michaelangelo Signorile
Ellen Hart
Felice Picano
Esther Newton
Felony and Mayhem
Kate Clinton
Lily Tomlin
Brian McNaught
Lucy J. Madison
Martin Duberman
Judith Katz
Spinifex Press
LPAC
Emanuel Xavier
Wayne Hoffman
SoulForce
Provincetown For Women
Island Chateau
Olivia Cruises
Bywater Books
Bride Pride
Inspiration Gatherings
Women’s Week PTown
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
If These Ovaries Could Talk
ABOUT MICHELE
Michele Karlsberg is a champion of showcasing how ordinary individuals can make extraordinary contributions to their communities, embodying the philosophy that strength lies in giving, not receiving.
Her three-decade career has seen her don many hats, primarily as a publicist with a unique skill set tailored for executing impactful publicity and marketing campaigns. Michele's gratitude extends to esteemed mentors like Nancy Bereano, Sasha Alyson, Barbara Grier, Richard Labonte, and Carol Seajay, whose guidance empowered her within the dynamic realm of book publishing.
With a client roster featuring luminaries such as Katherine Forrest, Felice Picano, Kate Clinton, Stephen Fry, Jewelle Gomez, Assotto Saint, Dorothy Allison, Martin Duberman, Judy Grahn, and Minnie Bruce Pratt, Michele's influence spans international borders. Working from her stateside home office, she represented renowned international publishing companies, including Spinifex Press (Australia), Second Story (Canada), Bruno Gmunder (Germany), and Creation Books (UK).
As one of the founders of Amethyst Press, Michele played a pivotal role in showcasing the works of Dennis Cooper, Kevin Killian, and Patrick Moore. She actively supports independent booksellers, collaborated on the Feminist Bookstore Network with Carol Seajay, and curates Outspoken, a nationwide LGBTQI literary series amplifying diverse voices. In her role as the publisher at Bywater Books, Michele championed numerous award-winning authors.
An innovator at heart, Michele co-launched Lesbian and Gay Book Month in 1989 with the Publishing Triangle. She collaborated with The Book Of The Month Club/Quality Paperback Books to launch the GLBT Book Club Insight/Out and the Triangle Classic series.
Michele's advocacy extends to her passion for the Pride Center on Staten Island, where she actively participates in celebrations, builds visibility, and supports those in need within the LGBTQ community.
Her role as a producer includes pioneering events such as Holland America Cruise Lines' first BOOK EXPO and BACK 2 BACK at the St. George Theater in NY with Lily Tomlin and Kate Clinton. Michele takes immense pride in producing events honoring the legacies of Audre Lorde, Melvin Dixon, and John Preston.
As the literary executor for Assotto Saint, Roy Gonsalves, and Stan Leventhal, Michele manages their creative works for contemporary publication. A meticulous planner, Michele has played a key role in organizing conferences and festivals like OUTWRITE, Saints and Sinners, San Francisco Book Festival, BookExpo America, In Our Own Write, Behind Our Masks, Readers and Writers, and the Gay Games Cultural Festival.
Michele is not just a practitioner but an author herself, contributing a non-fiction piece to "The Isle Of Staten" in the book Love, Christopher Street (Chelsea House Editions). Her WORDS column appears monthly in The Bay Area Reporter. She authored Self Publishing LGBTQI Books and co-edited the Lambda Literary Award finalist To Be Continued and To Be Continued: Take Two (Firebrand Books).
Recognized for her outstanding contributions, Michele has received accolades such as the Publishing Triangle Leadership Award, induction into the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall Of Fame, the One Island/One Pride Award from the S.I. LGBT Community Center, and the Lambda Literary Foundation Publishing Professional Award.
A proud citizen who believes in making America great, Michele prefers actions to symbols, never donning a red hat. If she can share her knowledge about marketing and publicity in the world of publishing, she finds true happiness.
KUDOS
"For more than a decade, it has been my pleasure to work with Michele Karlsberg. She is a problem-solver and is eager to learn new things. She pays attention to details both large and small. She is creative and fun-loving, she anticipates and takes initiative, and she takes pride in finishing projects. She is a woman of integrity and always takes the long view that her work with others is part of building community and a better world."
– Kate Clinton, Entertainer
"Publicists aren't just for famous people, and I originally didn't think I could afford a publicist but Michele Karlsberg worked with my budget and did an excellent job. I hired Michele to help increase awareness for my book. She worked magic, or at least her contacts, and generated significant coverage and opportunities to get my book the visibility it deserved. What's more, Michele's actually really enjoyable to work with. She is passionate about the projects she takes on and maintains the critical momentum that book publicity needs"
– Adrian Shanker, editor of Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health
"Michele Karlsberg makes sense of nonsense and gets it all in writing. She has accomplished nothing short of a miracle sorting through and organizing the sometimes daunting volume of requests that had buried my ability to get back to the writing life. As a business manager, she has no equal."
– Dorothy Allison, Author
"I want to thank you for all of the hard work you continue to do on my behalf since we began to work together in 2018! You have helped me to maintain a great online presence, you have guided me toward some wonderful publication opportunities, and you have suggested some great projects! Your suggestion to work with Elana Dykewomon to co-edit the Sinister Wisdom special Jewish lesbian issue, for example, was a true inspiration and a real gift! I am thrilled to be represented by you as I continue to navigate the sometimes perilous world of publishing--both queer and straight. You rock!"
– Judith Katz, Author
“Michele Karlsberg would have made one great ballroom House mother! She pushes you to get out there and do your best with all the passion of someone who genuinely knows our struggles. Many of us in the LGBTQ+ literary community have been able to shine because of her.”
– Emanuel Xavier, Author
"Michele provides strategic, thoughtful communications counsel for the Provincetown Theater. She has terrific interpersonal skills that enable her to work well with everyone from the media to our Board. She knows Provincetown and the theater world. Her breadth of knowledge and experience is exceeded only by her passion for helping us achieve our goals.”
- David Wilson, Board Chair Provincetown Theater
"Michele Karlsberg enables you to envision broader horizons and take your career to the next level – and that’s a rare gift. A tireless fount of ideas and a source of boundless encouragement for her clients, she is fun to work with, unafraid to volunteer a blunt opinion, and not offended when you push back with your own. She knows people in the business (lots of them) and like a master chess player, she never stops thinking several moves ahead."
– Lance Ringel, Author & Playwright
"We absolutely loved working with Michele on the launch of our book If These Ovaries Could Talk: The Things We've Learned About Making an LGBTQ Family. Michele has a warm personality, but she's also a pitbull who never gives up when it comes to getting you that quote, story, feature, podcast guest spot, or creative content opportunity. From our first call, we felt like Michele understood what we were looking for, and she never stopped fighting to get us the most promotion and visibility for our book, well after the launch. In addition, she's entrenched in the LGBTQ community. There was almost no outlet we mentioned that she didn't already have a relationship established."
– Robin Hopkins & Jaimie Kelton
"Michele is great fun to work with, enthusiastic, and tireless. Her support has meant a great deal to me both because of her effective work and because of her personal encouragement, which every writer needs!"
– Jewelle Gomez, Author
“Michele's support has been tremendously helpful in the launch of I Thought You Loved Me. Her vast knowledge and experience in the best practices of book publicity have helped guide me through this journey and has given me the confidence that I've done the most I can for this book. I highly recommend getting her on your book marketing team."
– MariNaomi, Cartoonist
THE MICHELE KARLSBERG LEADERSHIP AWARD
The Publishing Triangle takes great pride in celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of today's most talented writers, whose contributions significantly enhance the vitality, diversity, and prestige of LGBTQ literature. The Michele Karlsberg Leadership Award, a distinguished accolade, acknowledges the invaluable efforts of editors, literary agents, institutions, and periodicals devoted to ensuring exceptional books find their way into the hands of enthusiastic readers.
In 2022, this esteemed award was renamed in tribute to the esteemed publicist and consultant, Michele Karlsberg. Serving as one of the inaugural co-chairs for the Publishing Triangle and contributing to the foundation of the queer publishing house Amethyst Press, Karlsberg has left an indelible mark on the literary landscape. Her renowned firm, Michele Karlsberg Marketing and Management, has collaborated with a myriad of influential queer authors, including but not limited to Kate Clinton, Assotto Saint, Emanuel Xavier, Katherine Forrest, Jewelle Gomez, Wayne Hoffman, Dorothy Allison, and Felice Picano.
Established in 2002, the award transformed in 2022 to bear Michele Karlsberg's name. A testament to her own outstanding contributions, Karlsberg herself was a recipient of the Publishing Triangle Leadership Award in 2010, marking two decades of recognizing and honoring those who have dedicated themselves to shaping the literary world for the better.
