Max Byrd (’83, ’96-’13, ’15, ’18) is the author of detective novels and historical novels, and several scholarly books about 18th-century literature. A former teacher at Yale and the University of California, Davis, Byrd is a winner of the Shamus Award for detective fiction, and the former President of the Board of the Community of Writers. He writes often for the New York Times Book Review and other journals. His more recent novels are The Sixth Conspirator and Pont Neuf.