Peter Hays

Peter Hays has a long background in theatre as an electrician, carpenter, literary manager, and playwright.  He has worked for The Santa Fe Opera, Lake George Opera, Capital Repertory Theatre, Soho Repertory Theatre­, and briefly for The Grateful Dead, Peter Frampton, and The Moody Blues.  For several years, he worked for Writers Theatre of New Jersey, where he later returned to serve President on that company’s board of directors.  He received a Fellowship in playwriting from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts.  His play Foreign Exchange was produced, and he has had productions and readings of other plays.  He holds an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Theatre from Skidmore College.

Besides writing several plays for adults, Peter has co-written most of the children’s stories with Brazilian children’s author Beti Rozen that appear on this website.  Together, they founded the company Sem Fronteiras Press (books without borders). 

Peter has worked with his brother in their family owned business, which was RV resort parks, and he received a certificate as a Park Operator from the National Associate of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC).  Currently, they have transitioned into commercial real estate.

Peter been active in Spiritism, a spiritual movement that began in Europe, flourished in Brazil, and has been growing in the United States.   Recently, he became President of Spiritist Group Love and Light in Newark, New Jersey.  He has done several lectures on Spiritism in Newark, New York City, Miami, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. among other places, and did a radio program called Living Spring.

A dedicated player and collector of guitars, Peter teaches beginning guitar classes to kids and adults; occasionally, he performs with others in nursing homes and veterans’ hospitals.  He and his wife Beti are active in ballroom dancing through Dance with Me Studios and have participated in competitions, showcases, and special visits to nursing homes.

MEMBERSHIPS

·       Society of Children’s Book Authors

·       Dramatists Guild

Beti Rozen

Beti Rozen was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  As a writer with four literary prizes for poetry, she recently won the Brazilian International Press Award for literature in the United States. Her book Without Words originated from an award-winning text in a contest of children’s stories promoted by the Consulate of Brasil and Revista Alternativa, in Boston. She has published fifteen books in English in the United States, in Portuguese (Brazil), and in Spanish (Colombia), along with stories published in Chinese, Hebrew, French and Italian.

In the United States, Beti created the publishing company Sem Fronteiras Press with her husband Peter Hays.   Together, they founded the company Sem Fronteiras Press (books without borders) which specializes in children’s books about Brazil: its history, culture, and the experiences of Brazilian immigrants abroad. Their first book Stolen Spirit, illustrated by Graca Lima, received favorable reviews and was published in Brazil as O Sonho do Guerreiro by Editora Melhoramentos.

Beti has taken part in many anthologies organized by REBRA, an international Brazilian women writers’ group, in Portuguese and French. Her story Robby the Little Robot received an award from the international literary contest Pensieri & Parole in Italy, promoted by the Cultural International Association Mandala.  

She is the United States representative of the Brazilian newspaper Jornal Sem Fronteiras. She participated in Between Spaces of the Literature of the Brazilian Diaspora and Brazilian Literature Abroad, an academic project that is now available on DVD and published as a book by Professor Else R. P. Vieira from Queen Mary University of London. She has won the Brazilian International Press Award for literature and culture in the United States, and recently she received the Machado de Assis medal from the Brazilian Endowment for the Arts.

In her spare time Beti plays piano. She and her husband Peter are active in ballroom dancing through Dance with Me Studios and have participated in competitions and showcases. Recently, they began performing at nursing homes.

MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS

• Brazilian Endowment for the Arts in New York

• Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce

• Centro Cultural Brasil-USA na Florida

• Guides Association of New York City (GANYC)

• Membro da Associação Brasileira de Imprensa Internacional – ABI

• Associação Cultural Internacional Mandala na Itália (ACIMA)

• Rede de Escritoras Brasileiras (REBRA)

• American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese (ATOP)

• Academia de Letras e Artes Lusófonas

• Academie de Lettres et Arts Luso-Suisse (ALALS)

• Associação Portuguesa de Poetas