Anne Billson

Biography

Anne Billson is a film critic, novelist, photographer, screenwriter, film festival programmer, style icon, wicked spinster, evil feminist, and international cat-sitter. She has lived in London, Cambridge, Tokyo, Paris and Croydon, and now lives in Antwerp. She likes frites, beer and chocolate.

Her books include horror novels Suckers, Stiff Lips, The Ex, The Coming Thing and The Half Man; Blood Pearl, Volume 1 of The Camillography; monographs on the films The Thing and Let the Right One In; Breast Man: A Conversation with Russ Meyer; Billson Film Database, a collection of more than 4000 film reviews; and Cats on Film, the definitive work of feline film scholarship.

In 1993 she was named by Granta as one of their Best Young British Novelists. In 2012 she wrote a segment for the portmanteau play The Halloween Sessions, performed in London's West End. In 2015 she was named by the British Film Institute as one of 25 Female Film Critics Worth Celebrating.

Where to find Anne Billson online

Books

Blood Pearl
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 62,810. Language: English. Published: May 11, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy, Fiction » Fantasy » Paranormal
Millie Greenwood leads an uneventful life in the most boring village in England - until one day she goes on a day-trip to Paris, and all hell breaks loose. She and her friends are targeted by Maison Pim, a Parisian fashion house... which just happens to be the front for an ancient and incredibly evil syndicate of vampires.
The Half Man
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 50,830. Language: English. Published: April 26, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Occult, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy
What is the secret of The Half Man, a creepy old inn on the bleak Norfolk coast? Vic, a low-ranking hoodlum from London's gangland, has orders to find out what it is and steal it for his boss. But soon he's up to his neck in femme fatales, nosy cops, old magic, ancient rituals and quicksand - lots of quicksand - in a supernatural thriller with echoes of Get Carter, Agatha Christie and M. R. James.
Cats on Film
Price: $8.99 USD. Words: 66,990. Language: English. Published: September 10, 2017 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / guides & reviews, Nonfiction » Home & Garden » Pets & livestock » Cats
What is a Catguffin? Is a Catzilla more dangerous than a Pussilla? Which is the most upsetting Catrifice on film? And what exactly did Jones the cat say to the Alien? These questions and many others are answered in CATS ON FILM, the definitive work of feline film scholarship, in which critic and novelist Anne Billson explores the narrative functions of cats in 100 specially selected movies.
Amuse-Bouches
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 31,790. Language: English. Published: June 5, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy
(4.00 from 1 review)
A demon with a taste for Dry Martinis. An inexplicable pregnancy. A woman gives up her old life to join a sinister cult in Croydon. A fashion blogger is trapped in Paris when the city is overrun by zombies. A widow is haunted by her dead cat. Five short tales of the unexpected from the author of horror novels Suckers, Stiff Lips and The Ex, described by Salman Rushdie as 'a superb satirist'.
Breast Man: A Conversation with Russ Meyer
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 46,770. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / direction & production, Nonfiction » Biography » Celebrity biography
Russ Meyer was one of cinema's true mavericks. His technical flair, wicked sense of humour, and predilection for actresses with enormous breasts helped turn movies like Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls into firm cult favorites. This is the transcript of a 1992 conversation, which offers a glimpse into the mind of an extraordinary film-maker and true American auteur.
Billson Film Database
Price: $10.99 USD. Words: 513,560. Language: English. Published: March 18, 2013 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / guides & reviews
(5.00 from 1 review)
Anne Billson has collected short reviews of over 4000 films into one ebook. You won't find reviews of every film ever made, or of the latest blockbuster, but you will have fun browsing (and perhaps disagreeing with) the personal and often unorthodox opinions of a widely published and respected film writer. Find out which films made her laugh, which made her cry, and which have cats in them!
Dream Demon
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 71,890. Language: English. Published: June 23, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General
Susan is about to marry the man she loves, so why is she having such terrible nightmares? What is the secret of the ugly old doll she finds in the basement? And who is the mysterious American girl who turns up on the doorstep of her new London home? Soon, Susan is finding it hard to distinguish dream from reality. But if she can't learn to tell them apart, she may never be able to wake up again...
The Coming Thing
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 125,950. Language: English. Published: April 20, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy
Your best friend gets all the attention. Now she's pregnant with the Antichrist, religious maniacs are trying to kill her, and she wants to get an abortion. How do you compete with that, persuade her to keep the baby, and at the same time hold down your job as a bookshop assistant while trying not to think too much about decapitated Chihuahuas and the unpleasantness at the clinic? It's not easy.
Anne Billson on Film 2011
Price: Free! Words: 37,990. Language: English. Published: April 16, 2012 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / general
For three years, Anne Billson wrote a film column for the Guardian newspaper which became obligatory reading for anyone interested in the world of cinema. She combines in-depth knowledge of her field with an eminently readable and unpretentious style and makes sometimes surprising and controversial observations with wit and elegance. Quite simply, she's a must-read for anyone who likes movies.
Stiff Lips
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 87,760. Language: English. Published: March 16, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Ghost, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
Clare, stuck on the wrong side of town, is desperate to mingle with the artists and writers of trendy Notting Hill, like her friend Sophie. But how far will she go for a W11 postcode? As far as sharing a flat with someone who is, as she puts it, "vitally challenged"? From the author of cult vampire novel Suckers comes a 'sexy, sardonic and distinctly spooky' tale of girls, ghosts and glitterati.
Suckers
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 86,980. Language: English. Published: March 4, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Undead
(4.00 from 1 review)
Anne Billson's debut novel, described by Christopher Fowler in Time Out as "dark, sharp, chic and very funny", is set at the end of the "greed is good" decade, and features a gothic love triangle between a man, a woman and the 300-year-old vampire they chopped into easily disposable pieces a decade earlier. But now she's back, and this time she's building a bloodsucking empire...
Spoilers Part 2 1995-2001
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 33,500. Language: English. Published: February 17, 2012 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / general
Anne Billson has been writing about films for more than a quarter of a century. This is a selection of her published work.
Spoilers Part 1 1989-1995
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 37,470. Language: English. Published: February 6, 2012 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / general
Anne Billson has been writing about film for a quarter of a century. This is a selection of her published work.
Anne Billson on Film 2010
Price: Free! Words: 27,420. Language: English. Published: January 28, 2012 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / general
(5.00 from 1 review)
For three years, Anne Billson wrote a film column for the Guardian which became obligatory reading for anyone interested in the world of cinema. Billson combines in-depth knowledge of her field with an eminently readable and unpretentious style, and makes sometimes surprising and controversial observations with wit and elegance. Quite simply, she's a must-read for anyone who likes movies.
Anne Billson on Film 2009
Price: Free! Words: 25,270. Language: English. Published: January 16, 2012 . Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Performing arts » Film & video / general
(5.00 from 3 reviews)
For three years, Anne Billson wrote a film column for the Guardian newspaper which became obligatory reading for anyone interested in the world of cinema. She combines in-depth knowledge of her field with an eminently readable and unpretentious style and makes sometimes surprising and controversial observations with wit and elegance. Quite simply, she's a must-read for anyone who likes movies.