Dr. William H. Reid MD MPH

William H. Reid is an author who happens to be a nationally-known forensic psychiatrist. He’s published 17 books and editions—general readership, trade and academic—with large and small traditional publishers, and over 250 professional articles, audiovisual works and musical albums. His most recent book, A Dark Night in Aurora: Inside James Holmes and the Colorado Mass Shootings (Skyhorse), had excellent editorial & reader reviews, led to a number of national media interviews, talk show appearances and podcasts, and sells well on Amazon three years after its release. Brilliance/Audible produced the audiobook, which he narrated. Collins Avenue (now Content Group) optioned the dramatization rights. Reid’s non-literary career includes a BA and MD from the University of Minnesota and a masters from Cal Berkeley, followed by many years as a clinical and forensic psychiatrist (including eight years as Texas state medical director for mental health and developmental disabilities. His has worked on prominent cases involving mass shootings, other killings, suicide, and other topics at the interface of mental health and the law with scores of attorneys and courts around the U.S. He’s a professor of psychiatry at three Texas medical schools, a Schreiner University trustee, past-president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, has been on the editorial boards of professional journals, and is a Fellow of several national and international organizations (e.g, the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, and the American College of Psychiatrists). His national recognition includes the Guttmacher Award for a book on forensic psychiatry and the Seymour Pollack Award for distinguished contribution to psychiatric education. Separate from his literary and forensic professions, Reid has written a symphony and a number of published songs. His musical albums include Double Lucky Blues, Blues for Lost Dreams, Songs for My Family and Country Blues and Story Songs, all recorded in Nashville with The Fewer Sorrows Band and all appearing on Grammy(R) ballots in their respective years and categories. He’s been nominated three times for a Texas Music Award, and has performed at the awards ceremony. He lives with his wife in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, west of Austin, on a creek named for their granddaughters.