Peter Balko

Peter Balko is prose and poetry writer. He is a graduate of Film and Drama Studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. He is one of the most successful writers of the youngest generation in Slovakia. Together with Lucia Potůčková and Maroš Hečko, Peter Balko published a collection of poems called Metrofóbia in 2012. His debut novel Once in Lošonc was nominated for Anasoft litera, the most prestigious literary prize in Slovakia. The action of the novel is set in his birthplace, Lučenec, where he organizes the MEDZIHMLA literary festival.

Peter Balko is also a successful screenwriter — his latest movie Čiara (The Line) about the life of smuggling communities on the Slovak-Ukrainian border, has become one of the most viewed movies in modern history of Slovak cinema.

At the Book Arsenal Festival, Peter Balko will discuss not only his literary writings, but also his experience from collecting the authentic material for the movie.