Local author John Billheimer wins 2020 Edgar for Best Critical / Biographical from Mystery Writers of America

The Mystery Writers of America announced today that Ladera resident John Billheimer is the winner of the Edgar Award for Best Critical / Biographical for Hitchcock and the Censors, as part of the 74th Annual Edgar Allan Poe Awards, traditionally presented at a banquet, this year via Twitter.

Hitchcock and the Censors traces the rise of movie censorship in the US and Britain and documents its effect on Alfred Hitchcock as he battled and bargained with bluenoses to produce a lifetime of memorable films. His interest in Alfred Hitchcock, which is at the heart of Hitchcock and the Censors, goes back to his high school job as an usher at the Keith-Albee theater in Huntington, WV.

Watch John’s great acceptance speech online.

Buy Hitchcock and the Censors online at Kepler’s.

We visited with John in February.

Photo by Laura Hamilton (c) 2020