Upstart & Crow

Upstart & Crow Upstart & Crow exists to share stories and to support the literary arts. We sell books, hand-picked literary gift packages and artworks.

And we work in community through library partnerships, writer residencies and other initiatives.

Paging all lovers of Persephone Books!🩶🌸Join us for an online chat with Francesca Beauman, publisher of the U.K. press, ...
03/12/2025

Paging all lovers of Persephone Books!🩶🌸

Join us for an online chat with Francesca Beauman, publisher of the U.K. press, as we discuss the upcoming release of ‘Crooked Cross’ by Sally Carson — a gripping (and timely) account of the rise of the N**i regime in Germany.

It couldn’t be a more important time to revisit the text, says Beauman. “To have the opportunity to rescue this literary masterpiece from being entirely lost is an immense privilege,” she says. “As the lessons history has taught us seem worryingly close to being forgotten, now feels like the right time to share it with the world.”

In this Sunday morning chat with Upstart & Crow founder Zoe Grams, Beauman will share about the decision to republish Carson’s long-lost text, and what else is happening for Persephone Books in the year ahead.

Don’t miss this conversation with one of the literary world’s most respected and innovative publishers! 

🎟️ Tickets linked in bio.

What a magical evening! Huge thanks to Janet Hong for such a phenomenal workshop 💛💛 We’re so grateful to everyone who at...
03/12/2025

What a magical evening! Huge thanks to Janet Hong for such a phenomenal workshop 💛💛

We’re so grateful to everyone who attended. What an honour to sit in!

(and special thanks to Stephany and Raphael for letting me share your translations!)

Join us on Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. PST for a special online author talk with journalist Mark Bourrie about ‘Ripp...
03/11/2025

Join us on Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. PST for a special online author talk with journalist Mark Bourrie about ‘Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre’ (out April 8 via Biblioasis). In this event, Bourrie will be interviewed by David Beers, founding editor of The Tyee.

More on the book: “Whether on the right or the left, two types of politicians dominate Western politics: rippers and weavers. Rippers capitalize on conflict and don’t care about the destruction that’s caused as they vie for power. Weavers are people who try to fix things, who want to bring people together and build consensus. A ripper is remaking the American government. And for the first time in its history, Canada has its own who is poised to assume power. Bourrie unpacks Poilievre’s rise, the evolution of his combative politics, and what it signals for Canada’s future.”

There are three tickets options:

🎟️ By donation. Proceeds will support The Tyee’s non-profit independent journalism and Upstart & Crow’s not-for-profit programs. A small number of free tickets are available; please contact us to reserve one.

🎟️ Book + ticket. Purchase the book for 10% off and pick it up at Upstart & Crow.

🎟️ Book + ticket + donation. Thank you for your support!

Reserve your spot via the link in our bio or through our website.

Exciting news! Our friend Franz has launched Enabling Arts, a multidisciplinary arts space dedicated to wellness through...
03/09/2025

Exciting news! Our friend Franz has launched Enabling Arts, a multidisciplinary arts space dedicated to wellness through the arts 🥳🎉

Located on 343 Railway Street, Enabling Arts hosts community events and workshops for sustainable creative practices in addition to selling books, local/curated art, natural products, and more. Their goal is to create a community art hub—and to provide a third space for connection centred around artistic expression—by curating a unique selection of artistic offerings and events. The space is open to rent for community art events, creative projects and book launches.

We’ll be supplying their books! So when you buy from them, you’re also supporting our nonprofit programming.

HUGE congratulations to Franz! 💛

Go check it out in person or visit their website at enablingarts.com

There’s no perfect translation for sobremesa. It’s a cherished tradition across Latin America—that warm, beautiful time ...
03/09/2025

There’s no perfect translation for sobremesa. It’s a cherished tradition across Latin America—that warm, beautiful time after a meal where you talk, debate, laugh… you sobremesa!

We’re hosting a sobremesa on Monday, May 5 at 7pm, with a combination of sweet treats, conversation, and the chance to delve into the fascinating, brilliant world of contemporary Mexican literature that you’ll definitely want to know about.

Facilitated by Jorge Amigo (Head of Cultural Programming at the Vancouver Public Library) and Sarah Revilla-Sanchez (UBC doctoral candidate in Hispanic Studies), we’ll be celebrating Cinco de Mayo not merely as a day of festivity but as a chance to acknowledge the ongoing fight for decolonization and equity.

Inspired by la sobremesa, you’ll be seated at our long table with traditional hot drinks, conchas and other snacks to share ☕️🍪

Jorge and Sarah will walk you through some of the brilliant contemporary voices shaping Mexico’s literary landscape—one where the present is pervaded by the past and where fiction offers a means to imagine alternative futures. Together, we’ll dive into Mexico’s complex postcoloniality, its diasporas, the ongoing struggle against gender based violence, and the literary minds at the forefront of these reflections.

You’ll leave with a special itacate—a comprehensive take-home reading list of must-discover authors from Mexico to continue exploring from home…. and some extra warmth and delight.

(To support our non-profit programming and to help us cover costs, this event is $30. Tickets available via the link in our bio!)

Heard of 168 Magazine? 👀It’s a gorgeous youth-led publication spearheaded by Blake Abbie, a Chinese-Scottish Canadian ar...
03/05/2025

Heard of 168 Magazine? 👀

It’s a gorgeous youth-led publication spearheaded by Blake Abbie, a Chinese-Scottish Canadian artist and editor. The magazine brings together local youth, artists, elders, and community members to share their creative visions and aspirations for the future of Vancouver’s Chinatown.

✨Their second issue is now in the studio✨

Featuring vibrant portrait photography by Jeremy Jude Lee, Issue 2 is a delicious exploration of nostalgia, heritage, and intergenerational ties through food and culinary traditions.

Come check it out!

To support 168 Magazine, or to read more about it, visit 168chinatown.com

The feeling that you are watching the world change, almost inevitably, almost in slow motion, disconnected from you yet ...
03/04/2025

The feeling that you are watching the world change, almost inevitably, almost in slow motion, disconnected from you yet affecting you.

The feeling that the knowledge you revelled in while reading is starting to leak out; that you are losing the strands to intertwine into your work and being.

The feeling that if you were more clever, patient, or read more, or finally found that spare time to really think, that maybe you could prevent some of this global descent.

The feeling that you can’t do anything to change things.

The feeling that you tried and it didn’t work.

The feeling that maybe you didn’t try hard enough.

The feeling that maybe even if it doesn’t work, what else is there but to try?

We don’t know about you, but these are some of the feelings we wrestle with constantly amidst what feels like a bizarre, heartrending and troubling time: one of climate denial and fascism; cruelty and division; polarisation… and perhaps hope?

It’s these feelings that our Climate Reader’s Retreat is designed to address and, if not solve, then constructively channel for future action.

At a time when many of us feel anchorless, our five-day retreat with Pulitzer Prize finalist John Vaillant offering keynote sessions provides the opportunity to delve into rigorous, bold conversations and practical solutions for moving forward with renewal and purpose in a changing world.

Spaces are filling up quickly. Book your place today at the beautiful Hollyhock on Cortez Island. More info linked in bio! 🌱

And here’s another staff pick from co-founder, Ian! More from Ian:“Anyone with the slightest interest in Indigenous know...
03/03/2025

And here’s another staff pick from co-founder, Ian! More from Ian:

“Anyone with the slightest interest in Indigenous knowledge would be well advised to sit down and have a kapati (cup of tea) with Tyson Yunkaporta’s much anticipated new book, Right Story, Wrong Story — How to Have Fearless Conversations in Hell.
You will immediately be told that this work, a sequel to the brilliant Sand Talk — How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World, ‘contains nothing that will save the world.’ Dammit. Just when the world needed saving as never before! What Right Story, Wrong Story does contain, however, is a lot of fine thinking, Yunkaporta’s trademark acid wit, and an acute riposte to anyone into ‘inspirational self-help, New Age woo-woo, and native wisdom … personal development (like development in general) is a combination of the stupidest parts of science and the stupidest parts of spirituality, and I think has hastened the death of the planet over the last century.’

Yunkaporta yarns with philosophers and elders and a polyglot lot of thinkers as he assembles an argument that ‘you are nothing without your relations.’ It is relationships — between and among people, and between us and nature — that hold the key to our survival. ‘Right story never comes from individuals, but from groups living in right relation with each other and with the land.’ To my mind, that might be the only thing that saves the world.”

Anyone obsessed with printmaking and letterpresses? 👀We’re partnering with New Leaf Editions for a very special, hands-o...
03/02/2025

Anyone obsessed with printmaking and letterpresses? 👀

We’re partnering with New Leaf Editions for a very special, hands-on, two-day workshop in which attendees can transform a short poem into print form.

You’ll learn the essentials of letterpress, including inking and printing techniques, how to set your own type, and how to operate the press yourselves. The end result will be a broadsheet with your chosen, short poem to take home… and, we bet, a fascination for this beautiful and meditative artform.

And what a place to learn! Since its inception in 1986, New Leaf Editions, founded by Peter Braune, has produced works for some of Canada’s greatest contemporary artists including Bill Reid, Robert Bateman, Rebecca Belmore, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and Susan Point. Today, New Leaf offers custom etchings, collaborative printmaking experiences and explorations of image-making with print media.

🎟️ There are only six spots available!

Ticket prices include fees and cover Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27. Visit the link in our bio to purchase.

✍️ Attendees are welcome to attend the short poem workshop with Elee Kraljii Gardiner free of cost to write their poem first, though attendance at both workshops is not mandatory.

Thank you for yet another fabulous poetry workshop! 🥰 It’s always so heartwarming to witness all your brilliant minds in...
03/01/2025

Thank you for yet another fabulous poetry workshop! 🥰 It’s always so heartwarming to witness all your brilliant minds in action.

And an extra special thank-you to poets Holly Flauto and Elizabeth Bachinsky for facilitating! 💛

✨NEW POETRY WORKSHOP✨Join Vancouver’s Poet Laureate—award-winning poet, editor, and artist—Elee Kraljii Gardiner, for a ...
02/27/2025

✨NEW POETRY WORKSHOP✨

Join Vancouver’s Poet Laureate—award-winning poet, editor, and artist—Elee Kraljii Gardiner, for a short poem workshop on Tuesday, April 22 at 6:30pm.

Using the idea of fragments (visual, sonic, or otherwise) this poetry workshop explores how small pieces become part of a whole.

We will experiment with physical materials on site, perhaps generating new materials in the form of sounds and word lists, and consider how assembling new patterns creates associative energy in the small poem.

This playful workshop is open to writers and non-writers of all experience levels who are curious about new methods of composition. Please bring pen and paper. Digital devices are welcome but not required. Participants will leave with short poems and with strategies for editing.

This is a free-by-donation event. To help us continue hosting workshops like this, the suggested donation is $10. RSVP via the link in our bio!

Address

1387 Railspur Alley
Vancouver, BC
V6H3R7

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+16045581124

Website

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