Peter Jewell Heck (born September 4, 1941, in Chestertown, Maryland) is an American science fiction and mystery author.
He also wrote the 36th chapter of Atlanta Nights, a book meant to ruin PublishAmerica's reputation.
Heck has also been an editor at Ace Books (where he edited Lynn S. Hightower and Robert J. Sawyer, among others), and created the SF newsletter Xignals and its mystery equivalent Crime Times for the Waldenbooks chain.
In 2007, Heck began working as a reporter at the Kent County News in Chestertown, Maryland, where he and his wife moved after a number of years in Brooklyn, NY.
His work for the paper includes articles on local government and history, health, environment, and the arts; it has won several awards from the MDDC Press Association.