Newsletter (Fall 2008)

Dear Friends,

It's hard to believe that in only three months, 2008 will come to a close. For Ex Machina Press, it's been a fast but exciting year! The LA Times Festival of Books was a huge success and our staff members have been creatively evolving to new heights with their own projects and endeavors. But this year is far from over. Read on and you'll understand why.

Book Fair Appearances and Panel Discussions

Ex Machina Press will be exhibitors once again at the Santa Barbara and West Hollywood Book Fairs during the last weekend of September, featuring the latest volume of Silent Voices: a creative mosaic of fiction (fiction by Liam Callanan, Alex Espinoza, Emily Rapp, and many others), Mark D'Anna's critically acclaimed short story collection Big Brown Bag, and Peter A. Balaskas's award winning The Grandmaster. Peter will also be a panelist at both festivals discussing his book:

Santa Barbara Book Fair

September 27, 2008 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Santa Barbara Library
7 E. Anapamu St.
Santa Barbara, CA

Panel Discussion: "Mysteries"
12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
The Mural Room at the Courthouse, one building over from the library

Peter will sign copies of his book at the Ex Machina Press exhibitor table out in the front of the library after the panel discussion.

West Hollywood Book Fair

Official Website: www.westhollywoodbookfair.org

Panel Discussion: "Beginnings: Writing the First Novel"
3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Peter will sign copies of The Grandmaster at the Book Soup exhibitor booth after the panel discussion.

So, drop on by and say hi.

Book Festival Wins and Reviews

It's been quite a prosperous summer for Silent Voices, Big Brown Bag, and The Grandmaster. Let's begin with:

Silent Voices, Volume Three wins Best Anthology at the last festival of the circuit -- The Beach Book Festival in Atlantic City:

www.beachbookfestival.com

Silent Voices, Volume Four begins the festival run by winning #1 Honorable Mention in the Wild Card Division at the New York Book Festival, as well as receiving a glowing review by the Northeast Book Reviews:

newyorkbookfest.brinkster.net/portal/content.asp?ContentId=382

www.northeastbookreviews.com/reviews/fiction/silent.voices.html

Reviews for Big Brown Bag and The Grandmaster

And speaking of reviews, Mark D'Anna and Peter Balaskas have been receiving numerous accolades from the media for their publishing debuts. Let's see what the Northeast Book Reviews says about their works:

www.northeastbookreviews.com/reviews/fiction/big.brown.bag.html

www.northeastbookreviews.com/reviews/fiction/grandmaster.html

And then, we have the Midwest Book Reviews and Rebecca's Reads:

For The Grandmaster:

"With his superbly crafted novella "The Grandmaster", author Peter A. Balaskas has proven himself a master of the genre."

For Big Brown Bag:

"Packed cover to cover with intriguing tales and thrilling characters makes it an exciting debut for D'Anna indeed. "Big Brown Bag" is highly recommended to fans of short story collections, especially those with a bit of an offbeat tone and for community library fiction collections."

For more information on these books and reviews, check out Mark and Peter's Amazon's listings and wait not a second longer to delve into the fantastic worlds these authors have created:

Amazon - Big-Brown-Bag by-Mark-DAnna

Amazon - Grandmaster by Peter-Balaskas

Peter also had the opportunity to read an excerpt from his book at Barnes and Noble: The Grove, Hollywood, CA. Check it out on YouTube, Parts One and Two:

Peter A. Balaskas author of "The Grandmaster" reading at Barnes & Noble. Pt. 1---7/20/08

For information about Mark and Peter, their websites are:

www.peterabalaskas.com

www.markdanna.com

After festival weekend, the staff will be discussing plans regarding future publishing projects, including our first literary novel, a thriller, and the Fifth Anniversary Issue of Silent Voices: a creative mosaic of fiction. We are still not accepting short fiction submissions at this time, but please check our website for updates and announcements.

As always, we thank you all for your support. Take care and keep writing.

Best,

Your Ex Machina Press staff

Ex Machina Press, LLC
www.exmachinapress.com

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