Stir Q&A: Upstart & Crow opens on Granville Island, bringing books to Vancouver in the midst of the pandemic
Stir connects with the duo behind the city’s new independent bookstore
Upstart & Crow has its home on Granville Island on unceded Indigenous lands. Photo by Olivia Leigh Nowak.
IT BREAKS OLD-SCHOOL journalists’ hearts: print is dead. (Hello, Stir.) Just as people can get their daily news fix via the web, they can download the latest best-selling novel onto their preferred electronic device, forgoing the need to have one more tangible item clutter up their condo.
But just as with a newspaper that you can spread out on your kitchen table and flip through while sipping a coffee, there’s still nothing like a book—an actual physical object you can hold in your hands, rest by your bed, place on your side table, and argue over with your spouse about whether it’s better to use a bookmark to mark your spot or fold the corner of a page.
Ian Gill and Zoe Grams are lovers of the printed word and co-owners of Upstart & Crow, Vancouver’s newest independent bookstore. It’s situated on Granville Island, at 1387 Railspur Alley. Grams is a social entrepreneur, writer, and publishing consultant who hails from Scotland. Australian-born Gill is a writer, author, conservationist, and co-founder of Salmon Nation.
Here, they share the back story of the book shop and then some.
Ian Gill and Zoe Grams are the co-owners of Upstart & Crow. Photo by Olivia Leigh Nowak.
What’s it like opening a bookstore in the middle of COVID-19?
IG: It’s a bit surreal, to be honest. It feels more important than ever to be opening doors rather than closing them, and the response of the community has been amazing and gratifying. People are yearning for connection, and books provide that in ways that are much deeper and more satisfying than digital media. It makes us feel like bookstores really are an important service, so discovering how to provide that service in times like these seems somehow more significant than just opening a store and selling some books.
What’s in a name?
IG: Upstart Crow is a pejorative name that a popular playwright, Robert Greene, gave to an up-and-coming playwright in 1592 by the name of William Shakespeare. Basically, Greene accused Shakespeare of plagiarism, but mostly it seems he feared the competition. Anyway, turns out Shakespeare was pretty good at writing. So Upstart & Crow has pretty deep literary roots.
More personally, years ago my mother and I dreamed of opening a bookstore in Australia called Upstart & Crow. We even registered the business name. But I ended up settling in Canada, so my mum launched a landscaping business instead. Fast forward a couple of decades. My mum passed away three years ago. When Zoe and I saw an opportunity to open a bookstore, I guess the name was kinda pre-ordained. It honours my mum and feels literary at the same time.
Photo by Olivia Leigh Nowak.
What’s on the shelves?
IG: What’s fun is that we have organized our shelves by themes and by experiences that a reader might want, rather than A to Z, fiction/non-fiction. For instance, we have tables with books that relate to the pandemic, to the political moment around marginalized voices and race, to cool summer reads (although a seasonal shift is in the air). We have a great section called Found in Translation, books written in languages other than English. We have stories by and about women but also about boys and men. I love our Where to? section, which is about journeys and adventures. We have classics, of course, but not a boring list of old faithfuls … to me, Vernon God Little is as much a classic as Anna Karenina. (We have both.) Lots of stuff on the state of the planet and how to fix it. A section on justice. And lots of books about books, about the art of writing.
We also have some great gifts: candles, bath salts, salves, socks with a literary theme, stationery to keep writers organized and to store their notes, journals, diaries, and the like—really fun, beautiful stuff to aid the writing and reading process.
What’s not on the shelves?
IG: We don’t do airport thrillers and junk romance. In fact, we don’t do junk anything.
What are you reading right now?
ZG: I’m so excited about Talking Animals (Book*hug Press) by New Yorker Joni Murphy, which Slate just heralded as “to disaster capitalism what that classic Orwell novel was to creeping totalitarianism”. It’s an allegory about late-stage neoliberalism that just happens to feature an alpaca as the protagonist, and already it’s searing and gentle, allowing you to peer deeply into something without hurting your eyes.
Next on my list is Butter Honey Pig Bread (Arsenal Pulp Press) by Francesca Ekwuyasi. It’s her debut novel—and already longlisted for the Giller, not to mention receiving accolades from across Canada and the U.S. Deeply moving, it’s a multigenerational epic about the most important elements of our lives: love, family, food, and forgiveness.
IG: Magdalena: River of Dreams by Wade Davis. It’s a lovesong to Colombia, and the prose is as lyrical and luscious as the country itself. I’m interviewing Wade at the Vancouver Writers Fest in late October, so partly I’m doing homework! But it is a sumptuous read. Next, I’m really looking forward to reading Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar.
Photo by Olivia Leigh Nowak.
What’s one word you always have to look up to spell properly?
IG: Rhythm has always given me the blues, but I just spelled it correctly, so maybe the adage about old dogs isn’t true.
ZG: I learned too late in life that one does not “pour” over a book but “pores” over it, and I am sure there are a few more realizations like that in my future…
Granville Island is an insanely amazing place to call your office. What’s a single item from the Public Market you can’t live without?
IG: Wine gums from the Grainry.
ZG: Cheese. Good cheese. Specifically, the Château de Bourgogne, Mont Jacob, and Epoisses from Benton Brothers Cheese. But we would also look decidedly less healthy if it wasn’t for salads from Sprig Contemporary Greek Kitchen or quite as pretty if it wasn’t for the (ever so gracious) V&J Plant Shop.
What are Upstart & Crow’s COVID-19 protocols?
ZG: We limit store capacity to six people at a time. Everyone in the store must wear a mask. We ask that everyone sanitize their hands upon entry and regularly sanitize the store. We are also about to launch a “virtual bookstore visit” option, for folks who are distant, immune-compromised, or can’t make it to the store. We’ll gladly share our shelves through video feed, providing recommendations and ideas for those who aren’t able to be in closed public spaces during the pandemic.
Photo by Olivia Leigh Nowak.
How would you describe the year 2020 in three words?
IG: All Our Fears.
ZG: Now or Never.
What are some highlights on Upstart & Crow's calendar for fall?
IG: We’re thrilled to host the launch of Zsuzsi Gartner’s The Beguiling on October 8. We’re also excited to offer gift boxes with hand-selected books for folks beginning to look for holiday ideas.
ZG: And in early October we’re offering a series of book-browsing experiences that recognize the strange times we live in. Society’s relationship to physical spaces—including where books are celebrated and shared—continues to evolve. In our case, we’re offering a number of private and online book-browsing experiences, including evening visits for book clubs or bubbles, and virtual browsing experiences for folks who can’t or don’t feel comfortable visiting public spaces at the moment. We’ll walk you through sections you choose by video, showing books of interest and making recommendations based on your interests, then ship the books straight to you.
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