Michael Seidlinger, Freelance Journalist Profile

Articles

Charlamagne Tha God Keeps Hitting the Books

2 months ago | publishersweekly.com | Michael Seidlinger

Charlamagne Tha God has always been in love with books. When asked about the impetus of his publishing imprint, Black Privilege Publishing, the radio host, television personality, and bestselling author goes back to his childhood. “I grew up off [Pizza Hut’s] Book It program where you read books and earned free pizza,” he says. He was encouraged by his mom, an English teacher, to expand his mind by reading everything—books by Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary, books about UFOs and Sasquatch.
The Far Corners of This World: PW Talks with Mike Mignola

Jan 15, 2025 | publishersweekly.com | Michael Seidlinger

Mike Mignola carved out his space in comics history in the 1990s with the creation of the iconic Hellboy series. Dozens of novels and hundreds of projects later, he has created a new world as epic and expansive as his breakthrough touchstone. Lands Unknown, a world built on folktales from across the globe, finds new life in the dark, strange corners of Mignola’s imagination, created with frequent collaborator Ben Stenbeck.
Twisted Minds, Terrifying Stories: 7 Terrifying Tales of Descent Into Madness

Nov 25, 2024 | the-line-up.com | Michael Seidlinger

Whether it be the language or the imagination, words hold an untold amount of potential when it comes to plunging into the distorted realities of the mind. A turn-of-phrase or a well-seated metaphor can build so effectively it becomes a window into the complexities of the human psyche. In timeless literary classics like The Picture of Dorian Gray, a painted portrait of a beautiful young man warps and becomes as evil as his soul after he sells it in the name of hedonistic indulgence.
How Alex Segura and Rob Hart Made the Full-Time Writer’s Life Work

Oct 30, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Michael Seidlinger |Rob Hart |Alex Segura

The dream of becoming a full-time writer is an exceedingly difficult one to achieve in trade publishing today. Book advances are delivered in multiple installments spread out often months, or even years, apart, requiring a sense of fortitude and a need to secure multiple revenue sources. The vocation, explain authors Rob Hart and Alex Segura, both of whom are full-time writers, requires adaptability and a lot of multi-tasking to make ends meet. “The full-time writing life is hard,” Hart said.
15 Bone-Chilling New Horror Books for Halloween

Oct 29, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Michael Seidlinger

How does a bookstore know it's almost Halloween? When the horror shelves are a ghost town. Jokes aside, the genre itself is anything but, as horror’s mainstream popularity continuing to rise. Horror today is expansive and wide-ranging, and you can bet that if you're afraid of something, there are countless books out there that examine that fear, whether it’s pretty spooky on its face (locked rooms, mysterious visions) or just an average, everyday experience (aging, meeting new people).
‘We’re Not Very Serious People’: PW Talks with Fantoons’ David Calcano

Oct 9, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Michael Seidlinger

The Los Angeles–based independent publisher and animation studio Fantoons launched 10 years ago with a plan to become what founders David Calcano and Linda Otero call a “360” organization: a studio that produces works across multiple mediums, including film, merchandise, music videos, merchandise, and, of course, books. The company was initially established on a shoestring budget and dedicated to celebrating the works of musicians Calcano and Otero loved.
Horror Novels with Unexpected Takes on Demonic Possession

Sep 12, 2024 | the-line-up.com | Michael Seidlinger

Demons and possession, twin terrors that truly get under the reader’s skin. From The Exorcist to Come Closer: They are tales of losing control and the self. Maybe it’s the fact that possession hits so close to home, an inherently personal and individual plight that can only be faced alone; maybe it’s how demonic possession lands front and center in that paranormal and supernatural space where many an individual denies believability.
The Literature of Obsession, Addiction, and Disease

Jul 25, 2024 | newsbreak.com | Michael Seidlinger

Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments.
The Literature of Obsession, Addiction, and Disease

Jul 25, 2024 | crimereads.com | Michael Seidlinger |José Saramago

Obsession, addiction, and disease: They are themes that coexist as a strange hierarchy of social horror, like the raw matter of what makes a subculture tick, and how self-destruction often takes control of the individual long before they can identify the source of the hurt. They are what fuels The Body Harvest’s Will and Olivia, the would-be main characters of a virus-laden story, full of the sort of worry and want that comes from people not only down on their luck but also wounded to the core.
Where to Start with Horror and Fantasy Author Kelley Armstrong

May 21, 2024 | the-line-up.com | Michael Seidlinger

Since the publication of her first novel, Bitten, in 2001, Kelley Armstrong has crafted entire worlds of fantasy across dozens of novels, multiple series, and even an adaptation of the aforementioned Bitten into a TV show for SyFy called Women of the Otherworld. Countless readers joined Armstrong in her “Women series” of books, all of which dive into the worlds of werewolves, necromancers, vampires, witches, and more as they attempt to function in the modern, or normal, world.