The choice to open the contest in March wasn't deliberate but, when we considered the timing with Small Press Month, we thought it worked. A small independent bookseller and a small independent publisher joining together to celebrate independent publishing by searching for new voices in fiction — not bad, huh?

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Just for the guys to see what it takes to move on, and also that he's a regular guy. It's not like he has any glow around him, he's a regular guy like they are, and he came from the same city.

158

That's been the biggest one, just since he's a Cardinal pitcher and he's a local guy and actually in the show. He's just a class-act guy. Watching him throw bullpens has been cool, not just for me, since I'm a Cardinal fan, but for the kids.

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He comes out every day. He comes out just like we do. He's just trying to get better.

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