Balticon 59 begins in a dozen days, and my weekend will be a busy one. In addition to participating in five programming items, I’m also scheduled to record three episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast.

If you’ll be in Baltimore as well, here’s where to find me —

All About That Tense
Friday, May 23, 5:30 p.m. (Mount Washington)
Don’t be tense about tense! There may be twelve different verb tenses, but our experts can help you sort them out.
with Virginia DeMarce (M), Sarah Avery, Mark L. Van Name, and Mark Painter

Howard the Duck Retrospective
Friday, May 23, 8:30 p.m. (Gibson)
Howard the Duck first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 in 1973 and eventually got his own series in 1976. This irreverent character became so popular he received write-in votes for the presidential election of 1976. More recently the pants-less Anatidae made small appearances in several MCU films. Our panelists will discuss the evolution of the character over the years and his impact.
with Neil Ottenstein

Saturday, May 24, Critique: Do’s and Don’ts
5:30 p.m. (Gibson)
It’s easy to have an opinion, but it’s hard to swallow other people’s. Conversely, it’s very easy to hear critique and internalize it as an attack. What techniques can we learn to give and receive constructive feedback?
with Rosemary Claire Smith, Sarah Pinsker, Micaiah Johnson, and Larry Hodges

Sunday, May 25, In Defense of Short Fiction
10:00 a.m. (Mount Washington)
In the Golden Age short stories were the cutting edge of SFFH. Today, the short story in SFFH is still well represented in both print and online magazines, but often is considered the poor cousin to novels. What do short stories convey to the reader that is distinct from novels? What can you do with a short story that you can’t in longer fiction? And why do people want to read short stories? Our panelists will discuss the importance of short form fiction.
with Andy Love, Carolyn Ives Gilman, L.H. Moore, and Samantha Mills

Monday, May 26, Short Fire Readings
11:30 a.m. (St. George)
with Miguel O. Mitchell, Andrija “Andy” Popovic, Mark Painter, and Ian Randal Strock

If you’ll be there as well, please say hi!