Peter Slonek

Peter Slonek's passion for writing came out of his passion for reading. From an early age he devoured book after book, always a little ahead of his age. After finishing his parents' collection of books he advanced to all the libraries within reach. This has remained his quest to the present day. No subject is taboo.

Early on he published essays and articles in young adult magazines, mostly drawing on his experiences during a one-year Fulbright Travel Grant study stint in the US, majoring in Journalism at the University of Kansas.

Back in Austria he became Public Relations Manager for the National Austrian Catholic Youth Movement, worked as a stringer for a news agency, edited tourist brochures and the dispatches of a Polish journalist working for Radio Free Europe. He joined the staff of the Press Attache of the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, later, as an Editor with USIA he wrote and produced a monthly newsreel and brochures supporting documentary films about life in the United States.

For four years he edited and published a quarterly Journal for Austrian Fulbright Alumni and American Fulbright students in Austria. In 1962 he emigrated to the US and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where he pursued a career in the computer field. He honed his writing skills at San Francisco State University and JFK University in Antioch. He published a short story in Tunnel Road and collected many rejection slips including a personalized one from the New Yorker.

After moving to Utah, his stories won acclaim in the annual writing competitions of the Utah Writer's Guild. Several of these stories were published in local anthologies. As an active member of the Dances of Universal Peace he edited three issues of their annual illustrated Journal for North America.

In retirement he worked with youth at risk, owned and ran a B&B, gardened and kept on writing. He now makes his home in Wilmette, Illinois.

Challenged by the memories of growing up in Austria, before, during and after World War II, he started to journal about his personal experiences during that time, mainly for his own healing. After many years of writing these stories accumulated to book length and Mr. Slonek finally decided to edit them together into his memoir "Who Stole my Father?" which was published in February 2013.

Mr. Slonek is currently working on a collection of short stories and and a novel set in several European cities. Follow his Blog at www.whostolemyfather.com or contact him at pslonek@earthlink.net