Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures

“Shelby Van Pelt has done the impossible. She’s created a perfect story with imperfect characters, that is so heartwarming, so mysterious, and so completely absorbing, you won’t be able to put it down because when you’re not reading this book you’ll be hugging it.”

— Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

“Remarkably Bright Creatures is the rarest of feats: a book that manages to be wry and wise, charming and surprising, and features one of the most intriguing and satisfying characters I’ve encountered in fiction in a very long time—Marcellus the Octopus. I don’t know how Shelby Van Pelt managed to make this uncommon tale sing so beautifully, but sing it does, and I defy you to put it down once you’ve started.”

— Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of Good Company and The Nest

“Truly original and touching, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story of family, community, and optimism in spite of darkness. Prepare to fall in love with a most exceptional octopus.”

— Helen Hoang, author of The Heart Principle

“Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing. Shelby Van Pelt makes good on this wild conceit, somehow making me love a misanthropic octopus, but her writing is so finely tuned that it’s a natural element of a larger story about family, about loss, and the electricity of something found.”

— Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!

Upcoming Events

Sep 4

WELLESLEY, MA
Wellesley Books with Mark Cecil
7PM ET
Purchase Tickets Here

Sep 8

WATERFORD, WI
Waterford Union HS Performing Arts Center
Presented by Reads By the River bookstore
In conversation with Jane Hamilton
3PM CT
Purchase Tickets Here

Sep 9

MILWAUKEE, WI
In conversation with Jodi Picoult to celebrate the launch of By Any Other Name
The Pabst Theater
Presented by Boswell Books, Books & Company, and WUVM 89.7
7PM CT
Purchase Tickets Here

Sep 10

POPLAR BLUFF, MO
One Book, One Community: Book In The Bluff
Tinnin Center
7PM CT
More Information

Sep 12

GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Kent District Library presents An Evening with Shelby Van Pelt
Cascade Township Branch
6PM ET
Registration Required

Sep 13

EVERGREEN PARK, IL
Evergreen Park Public Library
6:30PM CT
Registration Required

Sep 15

HIGHLANDS, NC
Celebration of Education at The Center for Literacy and Learning
Wildcat Cliffs Country Club
5:30PM ET
Tickets/Donation Required

Sep 19

CHICAGO, IL
Roscoe Books
7:30PM CT
More Information

Sep 25

SCHAUMBURG, IL
Schaumburg Central Library
7PM CT
Registration Required

Oct 3

THOMASVILLE, GA
One Book Thomas County
Thomasville Center for the Arts
7PM ET
Registration and More Info

Oct 9

MOLINE, IL
Moline Public Library
6PM CT
More Info

Oct 19

OCEAN CITY, NJ
OC Reads
Ocean City Free Public Library
2PM ET
Free and open to the public
More Info

Nov 1

LAKE FOREST, IL
Lake Forest Reads: A Evening With Shelby Van Pelt
Gorton Center
7PM CT
Register Here

Nov 7

BROOMFIELD, CO
One Book, One Broomfield
Broomfield Library Auditorium
7PM MT
More Info

Nov 20

ELMHURST, IL
One Book, One Elmhurst with Elmhurst Public Library and The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn
The Frick Center at Elmhurst University
7PM CT
Registration and More Info

Meet Shelby

Now Available

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Upcoming Events