It’s on! Fredericksburg will host some of the region’s best crime-fiction writers at a “Noir at the Bar” event at downtown June 9. I’m going to be the host of this one at the Recreation Center at 205 William St. beginning at 7 p.m. And the price is right: free. So, if you’re in the area, and if you’re not easily offended, come on out and support your local writers.
Not sure what “Noir at the Bar” is? Well, it’s a phenomenon in the crime fiction world. Like many public book readings, a Noir at the Bar is pretty simple: six to 10 writers come together at night in a bar and read their work in front of a microphone, then have a drink and socialize with their fellow writers and the audience. Sounds pretty standard, right?
“Not exactly,” according to Jen Conley of the LA Review of Books website. “We’re talking crime. Noir. Pulp. Hardboiled. Violent. Twisted. Bukowski, Cain, O’Connor are revered. If you go to a reading, you’re going to hear bad words. There’s going to be blood. Things are going to get dark. You might be offended.”
Here’s the lineup of writers:
S.A. Cosby
Meriah Crawford
J.T. Glover
Hugh Lessig
Eryk Pruitt
Shawn Reilly Simmons
LynDee Walker
Steve Weddle
Phillip Thompson 