Everyone loves the circus, and we loved reading all the reasons why in our Night Circus giveaway contest. Here are the fifteen winners, in order of submission. Each receives a free ARC of The Night Circus courtesy Doubleday and our friends at Random House Library Marketing:

What is your favorite part of the circus, and why?

• @aspeed I love the lions. I keep hoping that one day, they’ll use that whip on the trainer. [link]
• @yarmando The Plate Spinners, because that’s what my job as the library’s Deputy Director boils down to: keeping things going. [link]
• @ABMonk Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
  Lydia the tattooed lady
  She has eyes that men adore so
  And a torso even more so [link]
• @MichellePar Acrobats and daredevils with so much muscular control and graceful body awareness. I wish I had it. [link]
• @bibliovixen Lions. Tigers. And we’re not talking animal crackers. [link]
• @hoperider The cotton candy, because the rest is much more fun when you are hopped up on sugar. [link]
• @ljrTR I like the excitement on the faces of little kids at the circus [link]
• @mrgouldmrgould Waiting in the darkness for the show to begin and then BAM! lights, colour, and I am transported to another world. [link]
• @bookshoff Clowns. The Mary Tyler Moore Show said it best: “A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.” [link]
• @tenenbaums Carnies to the left of me, carnies to the right! Here I am, stuck in the middle with you [link]
• @mdruyan <3 the inversion of reality at the circus. Gravity is suspended, wild animals are friends, and sad clowns make me laugh. [link]
• @Jesterodd1 A Clown cannot pretend or be artificial. In the circus, laughter cannot be faked any more than a somersault. [link]
• @hrdoran The skill and bravery required to hug tigers, defy gravity, throw knives and catch fire captivated and inspired me. [link]
• @matt_diamond The elephants. Oh, the elephants! Uh oh, the elephants. Cleanup on ring five… [link]
• @ChocoLibrarian Tigers and lions gracefully jumping through flaming hoops… and my cat won’t even come to me when I give him treats. [link]

Thanks to everyone who participated. I will tweet instructions to the winners as to how they can claim their prizes!