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Chester County Press

An evening of murder and suspense for Oxford Library supporters

04/15/2019 01:39PM ● By J. Chambless

Stories of suspense and evil deeds will be in the spotlight during the second Oxford Noir At A Bar event on May 8, with proceeds benefiting the Oxford Public Library.

“I can tell you, it’s gonna be messy. The largest evening of carnage ever in Oxford. We hope to see a lot of you there … as innocent bystanders,” said Gary Zenker, emcee for the event and one of the 13 authors who will be reading their short stories of suspense, crime and murder.

Gary is the creator of Noir At A Bar, which holds bi-annual readings at Timothy’s in West Chester. He also runs two local writers groups, the Main Line Writers Group in Wayne, and the Wilmington-Chadds Ford Writers Group in Glen Mills. The groups focus on helping writers better their craft, publish their work, and establish strong relationships with other writers.

“The Noir events are a way to connect authors and their stories to the audience,” Zenker said. “Jay Kennedy is secretary of the Oxford Library Board of Trustees and came to a Noir reading in West Chester. He thought that it would be great to do one in association with his library. A few months later, we made it a reality.”

The first event, held last year, attracted a capacity crowd.

“Our authors come from the five-county area,” Zenker said. “Most are published authors, and all are donating their time to raise funds for the Oxford Library. For many of them, it isn’t even their local library. But they all recognize this as a great cause.”

“Bringing readers and authors together is at the very foundation of the Library’s core mission,” noted Carey Bresler, library director. “We normally do it through printed books and other media. Here’s an opportunity to do it with the actual authors -- 13 of them in one room. We are excited to host this event once again.”

Local authors include Tony Conaway, Kendall Redburn, Gary Zenker, Sarah Cain, Jay Kennedy, Michael Clarke, Lanny Larcenese, Chris Bauer, Matty Dalrymple, Tony Knighton, Todd Harra, Joanette McGeoch and others.

Tickets for the event, being held at the Octoraro Hotel, are $15 and include a buffet meal. For reservations, call the Oxford Library at 610-932-9625 or email [email protected].