Shelby Van Pelt

Author Shelby Van Pelt joins the Northwest Passages Book Club to discuss her bestseller, “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” and the novel’s film adaptation premiering this spring on Netflix.

VanPelt will be in conversation May 12 with Spokesman-Review Managing Editor  Lindsey Treffrey at Gonzaga University's Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center Coughlin Theater.

“Remarkably Bright Creatures” tells the story of a woman's unlikely friendship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus at the Pacific Northwest aquarium where she works. Part of the narrative is told from Marcellus’s erudite point of view.

Van Pelt’s debut novel spent more than 64 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold more than 2 million copies. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” was one of the top five novels enjoyed by readers at the Spokane County Library District in 2025.

Actress Sally Field stars in the book’s upcoming Netflix adaptation, which begins streaming on May 8.