A Few Words with Editor-in-Chief Michelle Schingler
Being that it’s State of the Union week, we thought you might enjoy hearing from Michelle about the current state of our book-happy affairs. Enjoy.
You’ve been at Foreword full time for over ten years. What do you love about the job?
When I started reviewing for Foreword in 2012, I was working in a library—a job I had dreamed of when I was little, and that I was honored to do, but at which it was incumbent upon me to subdue my bookish opinions sometimes. (If a patron wants James Patterson, you hand them James Patterson and smile; unless they ask, you do not recommend the more literary, more underground readalike title that you’d personally prefer.) Reviewing was a means of exercising my opinionated book nerd muscles more openly, and I loved it. I reviewed for multiple outlets, and grew to adore Foreword in particular—it was covering great books that I wasn’t seeing anywhere else. I coveted a spot on the full time staff and was so excited when one opened up!
The years since have been fantastic. My coworkers are also dedicated book nerds, and I like to joke that I get to “play” with books every day. Really, though, it’s sustained opining on, and selection among, the best forthcoming books in the industry, on behalf of audiences who have a multitude of options and who need help with discernment. As an opinionated person who enjoys being in the know, and who really, really enjoys injecting books into every conversation, it’s work that ticks so many happy boxes for me. My coworkers can attest that one of my “worst” habits is taking home some books for myself—the hours are already filled, but I just can’t resist!
What indie publishing trends are you seeing as we head into spring 2026?
The one I’m personally most excited about, and intrigued by, is inclusive horror. For example, we’re seeing some very cool feminist horror novels from cutting-edge presses like Creature Publishing, which was ahead of this growing trend. These are smart, thematically rich titles that, beyond traditional gore and body horror elements, give us so much to think about and shiver over.
Romantasy remains hot, of course, and it’s so great to see it become more diverse. Queer romantasy, romantasy centering people of color—those titles get snapped up right away.
We’re also seeing a needed elevation of voices from imperiled nations and cultures, from the Sami people to Ukrainians and Iranians. I’ve always believed that books are powerful, in part, because they are vehicles for fostering empathy; these are the stories people need to ingest right now, from voices who have traditionally been silenced.
What drives Foreword’s decisions about what genres to review, from issue to issue, year to year?
We are attentive to trends, as with those mentioned above—in fact, we added a romantasy feature this year—and we also adjust our genre slate as needed. Our feature topics are set on a yearly basis; some have become perennial, including climate change, poetry, and graphic novels.
The back of the book is where we have the most room to play–it’s our genre free-for-all space. There, we look to cover as much ground as we can. We receive between 1,200 and 2,400 books an issue, so it’s really a matter of sifting through them all, seeing what excites us, and setting a schedule that honors every kind of reader, speaking to as diverse a set of needs and interests as possible.
This space is normally reserved for reviewer-author interviews; often, the reviewers seem as animated as the authors. Do reviewers like putting on the interview hat? What makes a good author interview?
The behind-the-scenes intel is that, if a reviewer isn’t excited about the prospect of a particular interview, they just say no. If they’ve agreed to an interview, they’re animated for a reason! They’ve already actively engaged with the book, and their minds are still roiling with “what ifs” and branching inquiries. Talking to the authors themselves about these topics is a way for them to keep living in the book’s space, which is such an honor for readers who are more often forced to be satisfied with “the end.”
An important part of the work you do is to make sure books are matched with the appropriate reviewer. Can you talk a little about this process?
This is perhaps grandiose, but I like to think of myself as Yente, but with books instead of single people. I want to get the right book to the right reader.
It helps that we know our reviewers well, in terms of their professional backgrounds and their interests! Each is a reader who operates in two spaces: as a subject matter expert (we have reviewers with PhDs, for example, who are uniquely poised to critique titles on their specific subjects) and as an enthusiastic member of the ideal audience (it doesn’t take a PhD in political science to enjoy a good thriller, just an appetite for exciting stories and some genre familiarity). We weigh all of these elements when the books come in, and then we do our best to place each book with a reader who’s representative of its prospective audience—both with an eye toward giving authors insights into how their audiences will respond, and to feed our reviewers’ reader-brains in a way that keeps them happy and engaged.
Can you give us a bit of insight into the craft of reviewing?
I’ve sometimes compared reviews to one-act plays about the books at hand: you get on stage and soliloquize, as a royal reader, about what the book is about, and about how and how well it is written. From our perspective, a review should tell an enjoyable, critique-forward story about the story. It should leave prospective readers with a clear sense of whether or not a book is going to meet their needs, and why.
Also, a good review shouldn’t sound like every other review. We see some really bad writing habits in the reviewing world in general. The adverb addictions are out of hand—I’m shocked Big Pharma hasn’t seen the opportunity there. Not every story is a “journey,” either—somewhere beyond the veil, Joseph Campbell weeps over the rampant misapplication of this term. Oof.
The best reviews will make you want to read (or avoid!) a book, in part, because they themselves were enjoyable to read.
What message do you have for authors when they receive a less than glowing review of their book?
Take a breath.
Realize that this is, to a degree, inevitable. Truly. Not everyone is going to love your book, and that’s okay. Even the most beloved books received at least one negative review.
You can treat negative reviews as opposition research: they let you know who your reader isn’t. They show you what didn’t land with someone, and, if they’re well-written, why it didn’t. You can calibrate your publicity campaigns accordingly.
Lastly: never, ever, ever respond to a negative review directly. Readers, in general, won’t judge you for a negative review—if they’re like me, they may even find it edifying, or a reason to purchase the book (I always read 1-star reader reviews first!)—but they will judge you for attacking a fellow reader. It’s uncouth, it’s crass, it’s disrespectful, and it’s a guaranteed means of becoming persona non grata in bookish communities.
Matt Sutherland
