JOE McGINNISS

2011 True Thrill Award Recipient: Joe McGinniss

“The first book Joe McGinniss wrote was The Selling of the President (1968), which revealed for the first time how ad agencies sell politicians to voters. That seminal work landed on the New York Times bestseller list when he was just 26 years old; it’s still taught in classrooms today.  He’s written 11 other books and numerous magazine and newspaper stories, taking us to soccer stadiums, oil fields and racetracks. But it’s his quartet of true crime stories that mark him as a True Thrill Master. His 1983 account of a brutal murder case, Fatal Vision, was gripping as he slowly reveals the killer’s identify. His 1989 tale of an idyllic family ripped by tragedy, Blind Faith, is Hitchcockian in its cast of character. The psychodrama of mother and son, Cruel Doubt (1991), unwinds with the understated horror of emerging facts. Never Enough (2007) is a suspenseful account of how greed can kill even the wealthy. With verve, guts, and ambition, McGinniss has inspired three generations of nonfiction suspense and true crime authors.”

I’ll be receiving this at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York on July 9.  Details at http://www.thrillerfest.com/

I am, as they say, both humbled and proud.

And I hope that THE ROGUE will provide more true thrills in September.