Peter Balaskas

Born in Brooklyn from Italian/Greek descent, Peter is indeed a man of many professions — including a microfilm clerk, an environmental and pharmaceutical chemist, a theatre actor, a freelance news camera operator, an NBC Page for The Tonight Show, a camera technician for NBC/Universal Studios, and, from 2004-2009, Owner/Managing Editor of Ex Machina Press,LLC, the proud parent of Silent Voices: A Creative Mosaic Of Fiction, until he finally discovered his niche: freelance journalist, SEO web content copywriter, copyeditor, proofreader, and speculative fiction writer.

His fiction and poetry have been published internationally. His gothic horror novella, "The Chameleon's Addiction" was a semi-finalist in the 2004 Glacier Press Writing Contest and is now published in Bardic Tales and Sage Advice,Volume Two by Bards and Sages Publishing, who also published his short novel, The Grandmaster, a supernatural thriller that takes place during the Holocaust. Originally his graduate master’s thesis, The Grandmaster ranked third in Bards and Sages nationwide Speculative Fiction Novel Contest, and has been awarded 2007 Best Science Fiction Novel by the Hollywood and New England Book Festivals. It is now on sale at amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. His short story collection, the PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATED In Our House, has also been published by Bards and Sages and is now available on amazon.com. His short story, "Chamber Music" was awarded 2012 Best Short Story by the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition(EPIC). Another short story, "Oranna's Song," was awarded Honorable Mention (ranked SECOND in the nation) in the Romance Category by the Fourth Annual Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards. He also often serves as a contract feature journalist for Newport Beach Magazine, Bespoke Magazine, Laguna Beach Magazine,Montage Magazine, Loews Magazine, and theatre critic for LA Splash Magazine.