Carl M. Szatmary was involved in many aspects of LGBTQ life in Wisconsin, largely in the Milwaukee area.Szatmary was an early Director of the Milwaukee LGBT Film Festival (at the time called the Milwaukee Gay/Lesbian Film Festival' and sponsored by 'Lavender Commitment' at UWM), until around 1987. In the early 1990's he began writing book reviews for both In Step magazine and Wisconsin Light newspaper.

In 1993 Szatmary opened his own bookstore, named Afterwords Bookstore & Espresso Bar. While the store was forced to close briefly in early-mid 2001 due to a trademark issue with another bookstore elsewhere in the country using the same name, he reopened in September 2001 renaming the store Outwords Books, Gifts & Coffee. The store is still operating as of January 2023.

Late in 2022, we were informed that Carl Szatmary had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.