Shelby Van Pelt w/ Jamie Ford

Elliott Bay Book Company is thrilled to host a special in-store event with Shelby Van Pelt to commemorate the release of the deluxe paperback edition of Remarkably Bright Creatures. This edition features sprayed and stenciled edges, silver foil, and a reading group guide.

About the Book

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

About the Authors

Shelby Van Pelt was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her family. Remarkably Bright Creatures is her first novel.

Jamie Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from Hoiping, China, to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the western name Ford, thus confusing countless generations. His debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list and went on to win the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. His work has been translated into thirty-five languages. Jamie’s latest novel, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, was an instant New York Times bestseller and Read With Jenna Book Club pick for August 2022. Having grown up in Seattle, he now lives in Montana with his wife and a one-eyed pug.

Pre-order your paperback copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures here.

Host or Publisher Elliott Bay Book Company