ThankfulIt’s been quite the year in the world of books and elsewhere, and no one is more aware of our ridiculous good fortune than all of us here at Upstart Crow Literary. So we are counting our blessings. And boy oh boy, do we have lots of reasons to give thanks as the holidays approach.

Because we will be taking a break from our (almost) daily blogging to spend time with our loved ones, Chris, Danielle, Ted and I have compiled a list of the things that inspire us to clasp our hands together, roll our eyes heavenward, and say, Thank you!

In no particular order, we present to you our first annual “Things the Agents at Upstart Crow Literary are Thankful For List.”

(just rolls off the tongue, don’t it?)

  • The launch of our new agency!
  • Strong coffee
  • The much-remarked-upon beauty and oft-envied design of our website, by renaissance man and grand master of awesome Symon Chow
  • That BEZ has bounced back from sickness like a g.d. superhero
  • The liquid bliss that is strong coffee
  • The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane—painfully witty, a brilliant stylist, and full of a passionate and deep understanding of movies and literature. And yet the greatest thing he does is to spare us from having to read David Denby’s film reviews every single week.
  • The many recent brave and wonderful film adaptations of children’s books, such as Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are, and Henry Selick’s Coraline.
  • The heavenly nectar that is strong coffee
  • Cats and dogs and all the little long leggedy beasties (No, seriously: We love pets here at the Crow.)
  • P.G. Wodehouse, because it is a great good thing to laugh, and funny can never be overrated
  • Google image search (where else can we find such ridiculous photos?)
  • Spel czech
  • Coffee. (Even when it’s weak it’s better than no coffee at all.)
  • And—not to devolve into complete sentimentality—all of you, who care about books and good writing to such a boundless degree that it is almost like a sickness; you who are driven to abandon spare time and good sense and often the company of loved ones in order to sit by yourself and pull from the ether threads of story and character and event in the hard work that to others doesn’t look like work at all. The only thing that allows you to endure is the faith that with care and attention and far too much effort, you can create something that matters and is worthwhile. It is too often a thankless task, but not today and not from us. So: Thanks to all of you.