It’s finally spring, time to emerge from hibernation and get yourself to a Noir At The Bar or similar event to enjoy local crime writers reading their best stuff.

The Kittery Crew

A gang of us had a rollicking good time in Kittery on a rainy night in mid-March at an evening of readings by crime writers from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Hosted by Zakariah Johnson, a Portsmouth-based writer who’s a mainstay at local events, and Sarah Lamagna, owner of the bookstore Literally Kittery, the Kittery Dance Hall rocked with the  words (and music!) of what the promotional materials called “A Dirty Dozen New England Crime Writers Reading their Darkest Stories.”

Some read very dark stuff (I’m looking at you Matt Cost and Zak Johnson) and some read less grisly but still riveting work, and our dear friend from Boston Carolyn Marie Wilkins not only read from her novel Murder at the Wham Bam Club but sat down at the piano and played and sang a catchy tune she’d written about it.

Carolyn Wilkins writes books and music. She read and sang at the Kittery event.

If you missed the Kittery event I’m sorry for you, because it was a blast, but there are three more coming up in short order (including one this Friday!) that you won’t want to miss.

For the uninitiated, Noir At The Bar (whether or not that name is used) is a group reading by ten or a dozen crime writers usually (but not always) held at a bar, sometimes in conjunction with a writing conference, but often for no reason other than that crime writers (a) like to read in public (b) always are keen to hear what everyone else is writing and (c) at least in Maine, really like hanging around with each other and our readers.

First-time attendees at these events often are surprised that the writers seem to be having so much fun. They imagine crime writers are as cutthroat as our characters, but nothing could be further from the truth. We may write about mayhem and murder, but IRL, we’re a fun-loving, mutually supportive bunch.

Here’s the info about upcoming group readings in Maine that the public is invited to attend to hear riveting, short readings from crime writers who plumb our region’s woods and waters for stories that will, we hope, keep you reading deep into the night.

On Friday, APRIL 10 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m, DOOM AND BLOOM:  AUTHORS AFTER DARK will take place at Karù, a restaurant and nightclub at 238 Main Street in Old Town hosted by the dynamic Katie York.

The terrific tagline?  Celebrate the spring with chills that last into summer.

Among the crime writers who’ll be reading are Rebecca Turkewitz, EK Sathue, Zak Johnson, Anne Britting Oleson, Cory Magee and MCW’s own Gabriela Stiteler and Matt Cost.

On Wednesday, APRIL 15,  MURDER IN MUD SEASON will take place at the Rockport Public Library, on Limerock Street in Rockport.

Hosted by MCW blogmates Rob Kelley and Jule Selbo, the bill features Tess Gerritsen, Paul Doiron, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Maureen Milliken, Bruce Coffin, Matt Cost, Allison Keeton, Maureen Ann Jennings, John Lewis, Ryan Lowell and Anne Britting Oleson.

The night will start at 6 p.m. and the audience is limited to 75 people, so get there early folks!  This evening promises to be a stunner!

On MAY 29, a NOIR AT THE BAR will happen at 7:00 p.m. at Bellflower Brewing Company, 66 Cove Street, Portland.  This NOIR is being held in conjunction with the Maine Crime Wave conference, which takes place at Mechanics’ Hall in Portland the following day.  It will be hosted by the dynamic duo of Jule Selbo and Matt Cost. The lineup is not quite finalized, but what we know is superb: Tess Gerritsen, Allison Keaton, Travis Kennedy, Rob Kelley,  Joanna Schaffhausen, James Ziskin, Zak Johnson and the inimitable Gabriela Stiteler.

As I said, Maine Crime Wave is on MAY 30, and you won’t want to miss that, either! Check out who will be there and sign yourself up for a full day of roundtables, interviews and elbow rubbing with these characters.  The registration link is here: https://mainewriters.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/mainewriters/eventRegistration.jsp?event=1324&

Brenda Buchanan sets her novels and short stories in Maine. Her three-book Joe Gale series features a contemporary newspaper reporter with old-school style who covers the courts and crime beat at the fictional Portland Daily Chronicle. Brenda’s short story, “Means, Motive, and Opportunity,” was included in the anthology Bloodroot: Best New England Crime Stories 2021 and received an honorable mention in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022.  A short story called “Cape Jewell,” was published in Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025, and another short story “Crime of Devotion” will be published next month in Murder Most Senior, an anthology presented by Jacqueline Winspear in association with the Malice Domestic conference.