Heinlein was getting to know other writers in Los Angeles, with the breakfasts that he had held for his precinct workers evolving into a writer’s group called the Mañana Literary Society. It allowed him to assume a leadership role, which suited his personality—although Leslyn was equally prominent—and he passed ideas from Campbell to its members, who included an eager, unpublished nineteen-year-old named Ray Bradbury. Years later, Bradbury gratefully remembered his mentorship: “Heinlein taught me human beings.”
