Spent a good amount of time working at Balticon 57, first helping to unload the truck, then mostly at Registration. Worked many hours Thursday evening through Saturday, but I hit the wall Sunday morning and had to retire. Am I getting too old? Also made a first visit to the BSFS clubhouse in December. Friendly folks, a massive SF library, and a very impressive and well-maintained space. Attend two monthly meetings, pay $45, and you can become a BSFS member. My main interest in Sci-Fi is in the written word. Not precisely "Literary", because I also enjoy older, Pulpy stuff, like Edgar Rice Burroughs or Leigh Brackett. I didn't keep current on upcoming writers after about 1993, being busy with other interests, but since retiring I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to find writers who've broken into the scene since then. This year, I've found two relatively new, although hardly young, writers -- James Cambias and D. J. Butler. I will be dipping into more of thei