Hungarian writer, Ilona Hegedus nominated for The James B. Baker Award

Ilona Hegedűs is a young Hungarian writer who lives in Budapest. She is a graduate with English and Librarian majors and she also completed a master's program in European Studies and Global Affairs. Ilona writes science-fiction, fantasy and horror in English, mainly in poetry form. Her works have appeared in a number of ezines and printed magazines in the United States and in Britain, including Illumen, Expressions Newsletter, Between Kisses, AlienSkin Magazine, Skyline, KidVisions, Whispers of Wickedness, Beyond Centauri, Astropoetica and Book of Dark Wisdom magazine.

Her first book of genre poetry (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, humor), Unearthly Companion has appeared in October 2005 and can be purchased at Lulu.com. The book has received glowing reviews and one of the poems in the book 'Haunted House' has been nominated for Muses Prize (in the Best Poem of Year 2005 category).
Another of her poems, Clarissa has just been nominated for The James B. Baker Award in the Best Poem for 2005 cathegory. This poem first appeared in the June 2005 issue of Between Kisses, then later in her book Unearthly Companion.

The James B. Baker Award was created by Sam's Dot Publishing three years ago, in honor and in memory of one of the founders of Sam's Dot Publishing. The award is officially called The James B. Baker Award For Genre Fiction but the four cathegories include not only Short Story, but also Poem, Article, and Art.
The nominees are selected at the end of each year, and each editor in Sam's Dot Publishing selects the best short story, poem, and illustration from that year's magazines which he or she edits. An independent judge is appointed to select the best short story, poem, article, and illustration from these, and this judge, a genre notable, remains anonymous until the announcement of the winners. The winners will be announced in the March issue of Expressions newsletter.

Ilona Hegedus is the first Hungarian writer who has a book of genre poetry published and she was also the first Hungarian writer who took up blogging in English, when she started Ilona's World.
Later she also started a website entitled European Reader, in an effort to do something that nobody else has tried before. European Reader which she refers to as 'a site for readers and writers in Europe and beyond' includes news, reviews and interviews in English, and
is aiming to provide the readers with news about the European literary scene, not only in Europe, but also in the United States, in Britain and in other parts of the world, as the Internet and the increasing use of English as a world language, at last, makes it possible.

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Media kits are available at request.

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