The optimism of March is palpable. The snow starts to melt, and the mind wanders toward summer. March is also Small Press Month, a time to celebrate the diversity and richness of the flourishing literary culture of small presses.  We encourage you to think about the importance of independents – independent publishers like Spout, independent bookstores (we recommend you visit our friends at Micawbers, where Hans and company can set you up with a lot of wonderful, independent literature), independent record stores, coffee shops – any place that is local. To learn more about Small Press Month, you can visit the official site here. The tagline for this year’s commemoration is “Small presses take chances. Chances are at the heart of all the literature we later know as great.”  We hope that you will take a chance on Spout and other small and independent presses like us.