The annual Best of the Twin Cities issue of City Pages is on the stands, and we want to send a shout out to some Spout friends who were winners. Congratulations to Micawber’s Books, voted best bookstore. We were also thrilled to see Spout featured poet and performer extraordinaire Dessa voted best local album, best … Continue reading »

Intermedia Arts recently announced the winners of VERVE Grants given to spoken word artists to help them get to the next level in their careers. Among the winners is  Spout contributor and comrade Jeff Skemp. Congratulations to Jeff and the other VERVE recipients. Continue reading »

Tomorrow is Record Store Day.  Like National Bookstore Day, it is an opportunity to bring awareness to the importance of independents.  Without independents, publishers like Spout Press would not be able to compete. The same is true with music. How many local or independent bands are you aware of because a local music store in … Continue reading »

I recently had the good fortune of visiting the Folger Shakespeare Library and viewing  a first folio. While Shakespeare is never entirely “off the radar,” the recent  book “Contested Will” by James Shapiro reinvigorates the ongoing authorship debate. You can read a review from the Chronicle here. I learned from a wonderful staffer at the Folger library … Continue reading »

Yesterday Minnesota Public Radio’s Midmorning program featured a discussion on  book reviews and the state of literary criticism. The conversation between the host and guests takes a few interesting turns, and is worth a listen. Guest Dwight Garner mentions George Orwell, and if you haven’t read “Confessions of a Book Reviewer” you can find it … Continue reading »

Ever wonder about the machinations behind the world of publishing?  In his work, The Book Business, Jason Epstein likens the relationship between publishers and booksellers as a “dance of death” where “neither partner can escape the other’s embrace.”  But don’t think that booksellers and publishers are having all of the fun. This piece  from The … Continue reading »

I recently reread “A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories” and found the work to be as unnerving and brilliant as I remembered, but somehow different.  Flannery O’Connor is the rare writer whose work changes with each read. I was reminded of the line from a Victoria Williams song, “that which you … Continue reading »

If you are the bookish sort and feeling inundated by the basketball frenzy elicited by the NCAA tournament, there is still a way for you to get your game on, thanks to The Morning News. Check out the 6th Annual  Tournament of Books. No doubt there will be some memorable moments, and given the unusual … Continue reading »

We are thrilled to announce that Spout Press poet Kirsten Dierking (Northern Oracle,  2007), is the winner of a 2010 McKnight Artist Fellowship. Kirsten was one of four poets selected by judge Marilyn Nelson among 125 applicants. An award of $25,000 is presented to each of the winners.  This provides writers with an opportunity to … Continue reading »

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 … Continue reading »