An Evening with the BC and Yukon Book Prizes Finalists
Join us on Thursday, June 5 at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the finalists of the 2025 BC and Yukon Book Prizes! We’ll hear readings from shortlisted authors Shashi Bhat, Leanne Dunic and Minelle Mahtani, and toast the wonderful writerly talent this region has to offer. The BC and Yukon Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate ...read more
Thursday, Jun 5 Upstart & Crow Studio
Our world needs scalable, systemic change, and now. But most of us don’t have the time and space in our daily lives to deeply reflect on what our contribution to solving the climate crisis might be. The Climate Readers’ Retreat is an opportunity for people with a passion for climate and democracy to work through ...read more
Wednesday, May 21 Hollyhock Retreat Center
The Erotics of Cutting Grass: A Reading with Kate Braid
Join us on Friday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m. for a night with lauded B.C. author Kate Braid and enjoy a reading from her new collection The Erotics of Cutting Grass (Caitlin Press), a celebration of life’s later chapters and an embrace of ageing on one’s own terms. Braid will be joined by author Rob Taylor for a ...read more
Friday, May 16 Upstart & Crow Studio
An Evening with Literary Magpie: Tree Abraham
Take the opportunity to meet one of the literary world’s most exciting young talents — writer, collager, book cover designer, and all round scavenger, Tree Abraham. We can’t wait to host her for a virtual conversation about her work, her process, her artistic life, and much more! Abraham is the author of the brand-new book ...read more
Thursday, May 8 Online via Zoom
Translation Spotlight: An Evening of Mexican Literature With Jorge Amigo & Sarah Revilla-Sanchez
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 ...read more
Monday, May 5 Upstart & Crow Studio
Spontaneous Particulars: Collage as Poetic Practice
How does tactile, sensory play enliven a poem-making practice? In this experimental workshop with poet, editor and teacher, Sheryda Warrener, you’ll layer, collide, disrupt, and juxtapose visual fragments as a way to prime the mind for poem-making. To inspire your practice, Sheryda will share examples of contemporary collage, as well as strategies to promote spontaneity, ...read more
Thursday, May 1 Upstart & Crow Studio
The Traitor of Sherwood Forest: Book Launch
Join us for a special evening to launch the debut novel of Amy S. Kaufman, The Traitor of Sherwood Forest, published by Penguin. The book is an immersive, sultry, heart-pounding historical reimagining of the Robin Hood ballads, as told through the piercing eyes of one of his spies. It’s “Sherwood Forest as you’ve never seen it: through a ...read more
Tuesday, Apr 29 Upstart & Crow Studio
Letterpress Poetry: A Two-Day How To with New Leaf Editions
We’re partnering with New Leaf Editions for a fascinating, 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 ...read more
Saturday, Apr 26 New Leaf Studio
Strips and Remnants: A Short Poem Workshop with Vancouver’s Poet Laureate Elee Kraljii Gardiner
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 ...read more
Tuesday, Apr 22 Upstart & Crow Studio
I Don’t Do Disability and Other Lies I’ve Told Myself: Book Launch
Please join Upstart & Crow and Adelle Purdham to celebrate the West Coast launch of her debut memoir-in-essays, I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I've Told Myself (Dundurn Press). Purdham will be in the shop talking about her new collection, which, at its heart, is about being a mom to a daughter with Down syndrome and ...read more
Tuesday, Apr 15 Upstart & Crow Studio
A Sunday Morning with ‘Crooked Cross’ and Persephone Books
Join us for an online chat with Francesca Beauman, publisher of the U.K.-based Persephone Books, about the press’s forthcoming book — the forgotten classic Crooked Cross by Sally Carson, “a richly detailed, page-turning and remarkably prescient account of the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany and its devastating impact on the lives of the fictional Kluger ...read more
Sunday, Apr 13 Online via Zoom
Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre — A Special Event with Mark Bourrie and The Tyee
As Canada nears a pivotal election, we’re proud to partner with The Tyee to bring you a conversation about an essential and timely new book delving deep into the background of political “ripper,” Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Join us on Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. PST for a special online author talk with ...read more
Thursday, Apr 10 Online via Zoom