A popular phenomena in crime fiction descends on Seaside.

Internet avenues proliferate for movies, TV shows and books, but people still cherish real-life meetups and gatherings. Note all the comic book conventions and Game of Thrones viewing parties.

So despite online forums for crime and pulp fiction like Out of the Gutter and Beat to a Pulp, Noir @ the Bar gatherings, founded in Philadelphia 10 years ago, have popped up in more and more cities. The literary readings assemble crime fiction authors at area bars to read their work to fans of the genre. Seaside joins the fray this Friday with a lineup of nine authors.

Eric Beetner has written a dozen novels, four novellas, a short story collection, and co-written half-a-dozen more novels. He also co-hosts Noir @ the Bar in L.A. and the podcast Writer Types.

John Lansing wrote and produced episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger in the ’90s, and co-executive produced ABC series Scoundrels. He’s also the best-selling author of the Jack Bertolino series.

By day, Patrick Whitehurst mans communications and marketing for the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. But at night (figuratively speaking), he is the author ofMonterey Noir and Monterey Pulp, both starring Barker, a homeless man with amnesia who lives under Fisherman’s Wharf with a pack of dogs.

“I consider him a mix of Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan,” Whitehurst says. “I’m a fan of the old pulps from the 1940s and 1980s. They were shorter, grittier, cranked out in a hurry.”

He says attendees of Noir @ the Bar can expect crime stories with enough adult content to issue a warning. “There was some chatter about how much cussing we’re going to do,” he says. “That’s how crime writers roll.”

NOIR @ THE BAR is 7-9pm Friday, Oct. 20, at the Press Club, 1123 Fremont Blvd., Seaside. Free. 333-0383.