Shelby Van Pelt
Shelby Van Pelt
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Shelby Van Pelt is an American writer who grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and now lives near Chicago. She graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2002 and worked as a financial consultant on litigation before turning to fiction. Her debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures (2022), began as a project in 2013 and was mostly written in 2020. It won the 2023 McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize and was adapted into a 2026 film.
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The author developed the character of Marcellus after participating in a writing workshop where she experimented with short scenes written from an octopus's point of view.
Her debut novel has been adapted into a feature film released in 2026, featuring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman in lead roles.
The novel was honored with the 2023 McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize and was selected as a Read with Jenna book club pick.