SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE 2026 THURBER PRIZE FOR AMERICAN HUMOR WRITING
“For starters, Lee Upton’s novel Tabitha, Get Up is funny—really, really funny... You’re going to love this book.”--David Ebenbach
“It’s Lee Upton’s best, funniest, and most ingenious work of fiction yet. Which is to say, it’s the best, funniest, most ingenious work of fiction you’ll read this year, and most other years, too.”---Brock Clarke
“Riding herd, Upton wrangles a novel that writes itself and rights itself.”--Michael Martone
“Smart, funny, crazy in the best sense, and a total joy!”--Iris Smyles
"A delightfully meta novel about a woman writing her way out of calamity."--Kirkus Reviews
Sagging Meniscus Covers by Anne Marie Hantho
LEE UPTON
THE WITHERS
(FORCOMING JUNE 2026; AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER)
“With a poet’s delicacy and the creeping terror of a Grimm’s fairy tale, Lee Upton has spun a strange and original story that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and your heart then swell with her ode to the love curled inside grief. Anyone who has ever loved a child, an animal, or a friend will resonate with her portrait of the power and beauty of these enduring bonds.”
—Lisa Gornick, author of Ana Turns
“A harrowing tale of love and shocking betrayal, Lee Upton’s The Withers tests the limits of the human heart. It’s a page turner where the stakes couldn’t be higher. A fabulous read.”
—Charles Holdefer, author of Don’t Look at Me
WRONGFUL (2025)
“Nimble, funny, playful, versatile Lee Upton has long been one of my favorite writers, and what a multilayered treat Wrongful is. Here we have all the usual joys of Upton’s prose—clever dialogue; great tonal range; psychological subtlety; a wit that’s razor-sharp without ever feeling mean-spirited—in service of a well-made and engrossing murder mystery. Is there any genre she can’t master, anything she can’t do?” —Michael Griffith, author of Trophy and Bibliophilia
“This book is addictive. Lee Upton has created a world of characters you won’t want to say goodbye to. Her writing is sharp, surprising, and entertaining. I love Wrongful for its humor and wisdom, but also for the characters that keep you guessing.”
—Olivia Clare Friedman, author of Here Lies
On the surface, this is a playful novel, but its heft comes from questions about art, reading, writing, and the darker side of human nature.”
—John Baum, in Necessary Fiction