Newsletter (Winter 2009)
Happy New Year, dear friends!!
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season.
Everyone here at Ex Machina Press has been extremely
busy during the last few months of 2008, most notably
during Festival Weekend at the Santa Barbara and West
Hollywood Book Fairs. Both were an incredible success
for us regarding the debut of three premiere titles:
Silent Voices: a creative mosaic of fiction, Volume
Four; Big Brown Bag by Mark D' Anna; and The Grandmaster
by Peter A. Balaskas.
Festival Appearances (September 27-28, 2008)
In Santa Barbara, Peter was a panelist on the Mystery Panel, along with Best Selling Authors Gayle Lynds, Robert Gregory Browne, and Michael Mehas (who had the opportunity to interview Peter on his blog): http://stolenboy.com/2008/10/09/publishing-and-writing-with-peter-balaskas/
Peter was also a panelist at the West Hollywood Book Fair for the First Fiction Panel, along with Amy Wallen, David Fuller, Selden Edwards and Natasha Bauman. Here is the Panel Discussion on YouTube:
If you would like to see photos of these events, check out our web page:
But we didn't stop there. Fall is the time for the Book Festival Awards Circuit. Silent Voices, Volume Four was Runner Up at the New York Book Festival and The Grandmaster won the Hollywood Book Festival earlier in the year. Little did we know that was only the beginning.
Silent Voices and The Grandmaster Win at Fall Book Festivals
We have always taken pride in the
quality of fiction that we publish, especially our
anthology Silent Voices: a creative mosaic of fiction.
And Volume Four is no exception. Silent Voices, Volume
Four has won Best Anthology at the DIY Book Festival in
Los Angeles, making it two years in a row that Silent
Voices has won in this category. It was also awarded
Honorable Mention at the London and New England Book
Festivals.
Volume Four was also recognized by the 17th Annual
Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Here is what
the judge had to say:
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Judge’s Commentary:
1) What did you like best about this book?
SMART AND EVOCATIVE. This collection of short stories edited by Peter A. Balaskas offers readers intense and witty storylines with unique and well-developed author voices. The collection is thematic and works well. There's a natural flow to the order of the stories that makes reading them particularly pleasurable. The stories begin at the right point, are compelling and the plots move forward. The stories move along at a pace appropriate to their plots. The compulsion to turn the page stays with the reader from start to finish. The authors show an overall skill that makes this a winning collection. SV 4 features well-paced stories that keep readers turning pages. This edition of the literary journal is beautifully packaged, with eye-catching cover graphics. SV 4 features beautifully written stories that are sure to captivate discerning readers.
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As far as The Grandmaster is concerned,
it was named Best Science Fiction Novel at the New
England Book Festival. It was also awarded Runner Up at
the London Book Festival and the DIY Book Festival in
Los Angeles.
Would all of you like to know what the fuss is all
about, check out these titles and enjoy the creative
journey:
Silent Voices, Volume Four:
The Grandmaster:
Peter A. Balaskas's website: www.peterabalaskas.com
Short Stories Published by Peter A. Balaskas
Would you like to read a chilling story
about a lawyer who must use his wits to escape the
vengeance of a former classmate? How about a black
comedy concerning another lawyer whose limbs don’t
follow his commands? Two of Peter Balaskas' short
stories were published by Spider Thief Publishing and
NeonBeam Magazine. If you would like to know what
happens, check them out:
"Let Auld Acquaintances Be Forgot" –
www.spiderthief.com/funeralpants.html
Spider Thief Publishing: www.spiderthief.com
"id": Issue Five – http://www.neonbeam.org/
Big Brown Bag receives praise from Rebecca's Reads
Mark D'Anna's collection, Big Brown Bag, continues its run of tremendous praise from the press, most notably from Rebecca's Reads:
http://www.rebeccasreads.com/Reviews/ReviewDAnnaBigBrownStories.html
If you want to purchase a copy of this wonderful book, check out the Amazon link:
Radio Show Interviewer Martin Perlich featured on Ex
Machina Press Website
It was a truly sad to hear Martin Perlich retiring from Arts and Roots Forum at KCSN (88.5 FM). We were truly blessed to be interviewed on his program and we enjoyed his enthusiasm and support for our company (radio interviews: http://www.exmachinapress.com/links.htm). But the good news is he is going strong with his writing. His novel, The Wild Times, has received critical praise and he is now featuring more of his writings on our website. Peter also has the pleasure to interview Martin regarding his novel quartet:
http://www.exmachinapress.com/perfectfool.htm
If you want to know more about his books, go to Amazon and pick yourself a copy:
The Wild Side: http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Times-Martin-Perlich/dp/1933932007/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229460624&sr=8-1
The Art of the Interview: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Interview-Guide-Insightful-Interviewing/dp/1879505932/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229460688&sr=8-12
2009 will be another pivotal year for Ex Machina Press.
We will be publishing our first novel, which will make
it's debut at the La Times Festival of Books at UCLA in
late April. As we approach that date, we will provide
you with more information.
All of you have been wonderful during these lean times.
Your support has been tremendous and we'll continue to
plug away publishing the highest quality of fiction that
money can buy.
Our deepest thanks. Take care and keep writing!!
Your Ex Machina Staff Family
www.exmachinapress.com
If you want to be added or taken off our mailing
list, send the subject heading “Please add” or “Please remove” to
Exmachinapab@aol.com
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