Medford, Oregon (November 5, 2025) – New York Times bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt, whose debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures has sold more than 2 million copies, is headed to Medford for an author talk hosted by Jackson County Library Services.
The talk, part of JCLS’s upcoming Rogue Reads winter reading program, will be held 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at the Craterian Theater at the Collier Center for the Performing Arts, 23 S. Central Ave., Medford. This event is made possible by generous sponsorship from the Jackson County Library Foundation.
A brief Q&A and book signing will follow the talk. The free event is for attendees 18 years of age and older. Registration is required. Visit https://bit.ly/43TgMrc for more information and to register.
Van Pelt received the Heartland Prize for Fiction and the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize from The Writer’s Center for Remarkably Bright Creatures. The book was also a Read with Jenna Today Show book club pick and spent, in aggregate, more than a year on the NYT Hardcover Bestseller list.
The book follows Tova, a widow still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her teenage son decades earlier. During her late-night custodial shifts at a local aquarium, she befriends Marcellus, a remarkably intelligent octopus who comes to realize he knows something about the long-ago tragedy that changed her life.
Get a jump on this year’s Rogue Reads by checking out a copy today from Jackson County Library Services!