FRIDAY
7:30PM Opening Ceremonies, Maryland Ballroom  Duration: 1:00
Welcome our Guests of Honor and Special Guests, applaud the Compton Crook and Heinlein Awards, and honor those we’ve lost since we were last able to meet in person.

SATURDAY
8:45AM Friends of Liad Breakfast in the hotel dining room

11:30AM Interview, Maryland Ballroom Duration: 1:00
Sharon Lee, Tom Schaad

2:30PM Speculative Poetry Open Mic and Contest Winners Reading, Federal Hill Duration: 2:00
The winners of the Steve Miller BSFS Annual Poetry Contest will also read their winning poems. Sharon Lee will present the awards.  Come read your speculative poetry! Share what you’ve been working on.
Miguel O. Mitchell, PhD, Sharon Lee

7:00PM Making Readers Care About Your Characters, Gibson, Duration: 01:00
Plotting is awesome...

I promised to post this before I left for BaltiCon, so that people could read what I intended to say.

It’s worth noting here, for those of you who may someday be called upon to give a speech before a live audience, up on the stage, that, unless your eyes are much better than mine (not impossible), you won’t be able to read your speech.  Memorize the Key Points.  Really.  It will save you some adrenaline.

So, here you are — 630ish words.  Stage Directions in CAPS.

Sharon Lee Acceptance Speech, Heinlein Award, May 23, 2025

It’s traditional on occasions like this to ask the people you meet, “What was YOUR first Balticon?”

Well. Some of you may not know this, but I’m FROM Baltimore, and for many years, BaltiCon was my Home Convention.

But my FIRST BaltiCon – that was Balticon TEN – in 1976...