Excellence in Media Award 2014

Joseph A. Wambaugh, Jr.

Joseph A. Wambaugh, Jr.

Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. is a bestselling author credited with transforming the sub-genre of the police novel into serious writing that is both harrowing and humorous, comic and tragic. His first four books and his work on the Police Story television series in the 1970s set new standards for subsequent law enforcement writers, and many acknowledge their debt to him.
 
Mr. Wambaugh resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1974 after 14 years of service. To date, he has authored 21 fiction and non-fiction novels, including the recent Hollywood Station series.
 
In addition to serving as creator and consultant on the Police Story series, Mr.Wambaugh’s television credits include The Blue Knight, Echos of Darkness, and Fugitive Nights. He also wrote screenplays for the film adaptations of his novels The Onion Field and The Black Marble. Additionally, his books The New Centurions and The Choirboys were made into major motion pictures. Mr. Wambaugh has won four Edgar awards for excellence in mystery fiction and non-fiction.