On November 30 best-selling mystery author Michael Sears visited Professor Richard Harris’s junior elective class in Fiction Writing to discuss his career and writing methods and experiences. After his graduation from the University of Maryland, Sears spent eight years as an actor, appearing in a number of Shakespearean productions as well as television shows. He then enrolled at Columbia University to earn an MBA and worked for two major Manhattan investment firms, rising to the position of Managing Director of each.

After twenty years on Wall Street, Sears decided to devote his time and efforts to writing. His 2013 novel Black Fridays, featuring detective Jason Stafford, was shortlisted for five major awards and recognized with the Shamus Prize, awarded annually to the best piece of American detective fiction. A series of Jason Stafford novels followed. With Tower of Babel (2022), Mr. Sears has begun a new series of New York novels, these set in Queens, as opposed to Manhattan. This novel was co-winner of an audio book award. Michael Sears presented each student in the class with an autographed copy of Tower of Babel.

In 2022 Michael Sears was honored with the prestigious Nero Award which recognizes excellence in the genre of mystery/detective fiction. He lives in Sea Cliff with his wife, artist and poet, Barbara Segal.