'NOIR AT THE BAR':

Two years ago, Wes Browne and fellow authors — and friends — S.A. Cosby and Eryk Pruitt put together the first-ever Noir At The Bar Kentucky Tour.

They, along with other storytellers, read selections of their works to audiences in Richmond and Louisville.

"Everyone had a good time," Brown said. "So, we are all talking and Eryk brought it up and said, 'Let's do another one.'"

On Friday, some of the most well-known mystery and crime authors in the country will appear again Apollo's Pizza in Richmond on the opening night of the 2025 Noir At The Bar Kentucky Tour.

The event is set to feature former Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House, along with Cosby, Pruitt, Browne and New York Times Bestseller Gwenda Bond. Other authors scheduled to attend include James D.F. Hannah, Carrie Mullins, Josh Boldt, Mandi Fugate Sheffel and Chris McGinley.

Victor Puente of Lexington's WYKT will serve as the host for the event, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are free, but must be reserved at www.eventbrite.com

On Saturday, the tour moves to 3rd Turn Brewing in Louisville. Cosby, Pruitt, Hannah and Browne are set appear, along with J.T. Ellison, J.H. Markert, J. Todd Scott, Archer Sullivan, Scott Sullivan, Mindy Carlson and Rob D. Smith, with Fallon Glick serving as the host.

At both stops, books will be available for purchase from the Read Spotted Newt, an independent bookshop located in Harzard.

"We've got a better impressive amount of star power," Browne said of the tour.

Cosby's last four books have all been New York Times' Best Sellers. His latest work, "All the Sinners Bleed" was an instant top seller, debuting on the chart in first week of release.

"He has become an international star," Browne said of the Virginia native. "One of his books is currently being adapted for a nine-part series on Netflix. He's been on The Tonight Show, The Daily Show. He is a big deal."

House is best known as a music journalist, environmental activist and columnist. The Corbin native, though, recently released his first crime novel on the not-so-subtle pseudonym, S.D. House.

"Dead Man Blues," was also an instant USA Today Best Seller.

"He is just now dipping his toe into the mystery genre," Browne said of House.

Bond is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and has been a prominent writer of franchise tie-in novels, including the first novel set in the Stranger Things universe, the New York Times bestseller "Suspicious Minds." Since 2015, Bond has published three novels in the DC Stories Metaverse starring Lois Lane.

Sheffel, also an EKU grad, is also scheduled to read at the Richmond event. He latest book, "The Nature of Pain," recounts coming of age in the opioid epidemic.

Browne, a Richmond resident, lawyer, and restaurateur, recently released his second book, "They All Fall The Same," a tale of a drug kingpin whose life descends into a deadly cycle of revenge.

Pruitt is a filmmaker, novelist, and screenwriter from Hillsborough, N.C.. His films have earned top prizes at festivals around the world, and his novel "What We Reckon" was a finalist for the Anthony Award.