Buxton Books Presents Remarkably Bright Creatures: An Author Talk with Shelby Van Pelt!
This event is SOLD OUT. Please read below for instructions on how to join the waitlist.

Buxton Books is excited to host Shelby Van Pelt, author of the Read with Jenna pick and New York Times bestselling novel Remarkably Bright Creatures, for an author talk and book club event in the bookstore! This is a ticketed, in-store event. *PLEASE NOTE: This event is SOLD OUT. Please email marissa@buxtonbooks.com to join the waitlist.*

On Wednesday, August 16, we can't wait to welcome Shelby Van Pelt into the bookstore for an author talk on her debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures. When it was released, Remarkably Bright Creatures became an instant New York Times bestseller and was selected as a Read with Jenna pick for the Today Show! Since then, it has continued to receive awards from publications (including The Chicago Tribune, Southern Living, and USA Today), has been a favorite among book clubs, and has been read and loved by many. 

We can't wait to talk with Shelby about her writing process, how it feels to release a debut novel, and what she's working on next. We might even get her insight on what's behind the recent trend of octopuses starring in novels! After the author talk, we'll open the floor for an audience Q&A and book signing. This part of the event will be free of spoilers, perfect for people who have already read the book and people who haven't made it that far on their TBR (to be read) list yet! 

If you’ve read the novel though, we encourage you to stick around for book club! During the book club event, immediately following the book signing, we’ll be having a book club-style discussion with Shelby where you can share your thoughts and ask her, and other attendees, the questions (and share the ponderings) you had while reading. This part of the evening, like any book club discussion, will delve into specifics in the book and will include spoilers! Anyone who buys an event ticket and would like to attend is invited to stay for book club, but we recommend reading the book prior for the best experience!

We had so much fun the first time we tried this event format at our event with Annabel Monaghan and are very excited to try it again with Shelby and Remarkably Bright Creatures!

Please join us for what is sure to be a remarkably bright evening in the bookstore with Shelby Van Pelt! 

Doors for this event open at 5:30 pm. Program begins at 6:00 pm. 

If you can't make it to the event but would like a signed copy of the book, click here. For bulk orders of 10 or more copies, please contact becky@buxtonbooks.com. 

*PLEASE NOTE: This event is SOLD OUT. Please email becky@buxtonbooks.com to join the waitlist.*

About Remarkably Bright Creatures:

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a luminous debut novel about a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium—and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance 30 years ago.

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 the Puget Sound over 30 years ago.

As she works, 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 tentacles for his human captors—until he forms an unlikely friendship with Tova.

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

Charming, compulsively readable, and full of wit, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a beautiful exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope–a reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

About Shelby Van Pelt:

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, will be published by Ecco/HarperCollins (US) and Bloomsbury (UK) in Spring 2022.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she’s now missing the mountains in the Chicago area with her husband and two children.

*PLEASE NOTE: This event is SOLD OUT. Please email becky@buxtonbooks.com to join the waitlist.*