SerlingFest 2026 Guests

Tony Albarella

Tony is the editor of the ten-volume book series AS TIMELESS AS INFINITY, which reprints all 92 of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone scripts. He co-wrote THE TWILIGHT ZONE SCRIPTS OF EARL HAMNER with Earl Hamner, edited RICHARD MATHESON’S NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET, and has worked with Carol Serling, Richard Matheson, Richard Christian Matheson, and George Clayton Johnson on several book projects. Tony has published dozens of magazine articles related to the work of Rod Serling and frequently speaks about Serling’s life and career on radio and television shows, documentaries, podcasts, conferences and events. He serves as vice president, secretary and archivist for the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation and lives in New Jersey with his wife Cindy and daughters Alyssa and Veronica.

Chris Alexander

A Canadian author, editor, journalist, teacher, composer and filmmaker. He is the former editor-in-chief of legendary horror film magazine FANGORIA (2009-2015) and the editor-in-chief/co-founder of horror/cult movie magazine DELIRIUM (2015-present) as well as the writer, director and composer of numerous horror and dark fantasy films like BLOOD FOR IRINA, QUEEN OF BLOOD, NECROPOLIS: LEGION, SPACE VAMPIRE and PARASITE LADY.

His “Fear on Film” horror film history course has been taught at colleges across Canada, and is currently offered through New York’s Morbid Anatomy institute. He is the composer and producer of the full length electronic music albums MUSIC FOR MURDER and BODY DOUBLE and the upcoming DRAKULON (the latter two released via the UK dark music label “Library of the Occult”). He is also the author of the bestselling books “CORMAN/POE”, which chronicles the making of iconic director Roger Corman’s “Poe Cycle” of horror movies and the essay/interview/memoir collection “ART! TRASH! TERROR! Adventures in Strange Cinema”, both from Headpress Publishing. For more on Alexander visit www.ChrisAlexanderOnline.com.

Mary Badham

Mary Badham appeared in the final original episode of the The Twilight Zone—“The Bewitchin’ Pool”—and as Scout in the movie “To Kill A Mockingbird.” During filming, Badham became particularly close to Gregory Peck, who played Scout’s father, Atticus Finch; she kept in contact with him, always calling him “Atticus,” until his death in 2003. Peck called her “Scout” in return.

David Bianculli

David Bianculli is a guest host and TV critic on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A contributor to the show since its inception, he has been a TV critic since 1975. From 1993 to 2007, Bianculli was a TV critic for the New York Daily News.

Bianculli has written four books: The Platinum Age Of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific (2016); Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2009); Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (1992); and Dictionary of Teleliteracy (1996). He is at work on a fifth.

Mark Dawidziak

Joseph Dougherty

Joseph is an Emmy and Humanitas Prize winner for his writing on the series Thirtysomething. He has contributed as a writer, director, and producer to several television series, including Judging Amy, Once and Again, and Pretty Little Liars.His movies include Cast a Deadly Spell, which was nominated for a Bradbury Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Tom Elliot (virtual)

Tom Elliot is the host of the long-running, Rondo-award-winning, Twilight Zone Podcast. Tom will be joining us for the second time, all the way from Liverpool, England.

Richard Christian Matheson (virtual)

Richard Christian Matheson is the author of more than 100 short stories of psychological horror and magical realism, which are gathered in more than 150 anthologies as well as his own short story collections Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks, Dystopia, and Zoopraxis. He is the author of the suspense novel Created By and adapted Stephen King’s short story, “Battleground” into an episode of the series Nightmares & Dreamscapes, which won two Emmy awards.

Bill Mumy (virtual)

Bill Mumy is a multi-talented artist who entered the world of professional entertainment at the age of five. He has worked on more than 400 television shows including three unforgettable performances on episodes of The Twilight Zone. He is perhaps best known for his role as Will Robinson on the long-running series, Lost in Space.

Mark Olshaker

Mark is an Emmy winning documentary filmmaker and author of thirteen nonfiction books and five novels, including Einstein’s Brain and The Edge. His books with former FBI Special Agent John Douglas, beginning with Mindhunter (basis for the Netflix series), have sold millions of copies worldwide. Their latest is When a Killer Calls, published in 2022.  Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, with Dr. Michael Osterholm, was published in 2017. The Big One: How to Prepare for World-Altering Pandemics to Come was published in 2025. Olshaker a member of the Board of Directors of the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation, past president of the Norman Mailer Society and a life member of the Writers Guild of America. He first met his literary hero Serling when he was fourteen and they maintained a close relationship until Rod’s passing ten years later.

Nick Parisi

Nicholas Parisi is the author of Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination, which was first published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2018, and America’s Twilight Zone: How Rod Serling Foreshadowed the Age of Trump, which he self-published in 2025. Nick serves as president of The Rod Serling Memorial Foundation and has acted as “MC” for each of our past SerlingFests.

Scott Sanders

Archivist of Rod Serling’s alma mater, Antioch College, Scott Sanders attended Wright State University (BA 1993, MA 1995) in Dayton, Ohio, where he studied Public History. His 300 hour graduate internship in Antiochiana, the special collections department of Olive Kettering Library, began in 1994 and has continued well past 64,000 hours. As a result, the Antioch College Alumni Association has anointed him “the unrivaled authority on all things Antioch.” He is regularly sought out by scholarly researchers from around the world as well as hundreds of alumni visitors each year, including, of course, those researching Rod Serling’s days as a member of the Antioch student body. Scott is the author of Antioch: An Episodic History (2004) and a regular contributor to College publications including the student newspaper The Antioch Record and the alumni magazine The Antiochian. He was named a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society in 2017.

Mikyla Tuggle Scott

Mikyla is a Detroit-born content creator and the voice behind Make That Magic, a platform she launched in 2022 that now reaches over 650K followers across four platforms. She’s best known for her comedic breakdowns of The Twilight Zone, a series introduced to her by her late grandfather, alongside sharp recaps of film, TV, and the arts that celebrate inclusivity and individuality. Mikyla was an 11-year vet in the entertainment industry before going full-time as a creator in 2025. She believes that together we can create experiences that encourage people to embrace their individuality and find strength in their uniqueness.

Anne Serling

Before becoming a full time writer, author/poet Anne Serling was an early childhood teacher with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Elmira College. Anne’s poetry has been published in The Cornell Daily Sun and Visions. Her works of prose include: the adaptation of two of her father’s teleplays in the anthology, The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories. She has had articles published in Salon.com, The Huffington Post; appeared on NPR’S Snap Judgment; and most recently her memoir, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling,  won the 2014 Silver Falchion Award for Best Memoir/Biography. Currently she is writing a novel: AFTERSHOCKS. Anne serves on the Board of Directors of the Rod Serling Foundation; is involved with the Binghamton City School District’s elementary school program, The Fifth Dimension; and is co-founder and editor of Rod Serling Books.
Facebook: Anne Serling Books and Rod Serling Books | Bluesky @anneserling.bsky.social

Jeff Serling

Leader, coach, and sci-fi enthusiast. Son of aviation writer Robert Serling and nephew of legendary storyteller Rod Serling, Jeff lives outside Seattle with his wife and two sons. He’s passionate about pop culture—especially Star Wars and superheroes—sports, and sharing personal stories from his unique upbringing in “Growing Up Serling.”

Jodi Serling

Jodi Serling is the first born child of Rod and Carol Serling. She earned an Associate’s degree from Colby Junior College and later a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and psychology from Ithaca College. After her father’s death, she was compelled to enter the healthcare profession, becoming an RN and practicing nursing for over 30 yrs in many different roles. She is married and has a son, Ryan, and a granddaughter, Ava.

Frank Spotnitz

Frank was a writer and Executive Producer of The X-Files television series and feature films. He shares three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Series and a Peabody Award for his work on the series.
Since founding Big Light Productions in 2013, he has created and executive produced series, including the Emmy award-winning The Man in the High Castle.

Jonah Tulis

In addition to the upcoming Rod Serling documentary, Jonah Tulis is in post-production on Silk Road, a covert documentary concerning one of the 21st century’s most notorious criminals, Ross Ulbricht, founder of the infamous “dark web” site. Previously, Jonah directed GameStop: Rise of the Players and Console Wars, the first original documentary from Legendary Pictures and Paramount+.