Edgar Awards 1958: Complete list of winners

The Mystery Writers of America announced the 1958 Edgar Awards winners this year, cementing what would become one of the most prestigious honors in the crime fiction world. Named after Edgar Allan Poe, the forefather of detective fiction, these awards have already established themselves as the gold standard for recognizing excellence in mystery and suspense writing. The 1958 Edgar Awards ceremony celebrated the genre’s finest talents, with particular attention paid to the year’s most compelling novels that kept readers turning pages long into the night.

Among the distinguished honorees, Ed Lacy’s “Room to Swing” claimed the Best Novel Edgar, a recognition that underscored the award’s commitment to identifying work that pushed the boundaries of crime fiction while maintaining the genre’s core appeal. Lacy’s win highlighted the vibrant state of American mystery writing in the late 1950s, a period when writers were finding fresh voices and new angles within the detective and crime narrative traditions. The Edgar Awards, even in these early years, demonstrated their role as tastemakers in the literary world, spotlighting works that might otherwise be overlooked by mainstream critics focused on literary fiction.

Below, you’ll find the complete list of 1958 Edgar Awards winners and finalists:

Best Novel

• Room to Swing by Ed Lacy