The Healing Season of Pottery

Burned out by her TV news writing job, Jungmin abruptly leaves her job to take time alone and attempt to put her life back together. When she stumbles upon a little pottery studio in her neighborhood, its windows almost entirely covered by plants, she is invited in by the mysterious workshop teacher. The warmth and light, the smell of clay, and the incredible coffee the students drink all awaken her senses and make her feel alive for the first time in months. 

Over the coming year, season by season, pot by pot, Jungmin returns to herself and builds unexpected friendships with the other members of the studio, who are all working through their own trials by working at the pottery wheel. She connects with one student in particular, whose relationship with his girlfriend has begun to fray, and the two begin to lean on each other more and more. As the holidays approach and the snow piles up on the studio windowsill, Jungmin realizes how much she has changed and that she might even be open to love again—but she'll have to make the decision whether to stay where she's grown so comfortable, or take a risk. 

In her English-language debut (translated by Clare Richards), rising Korean literary star Yeon Somin shares a testament to the joys and power of slowing down in a fast-paced world and an homage to the art of ceramics, as she immerses readers in a world they won't want to leave after the final page. 

Yeon Somin is a rising literary talent in Korea who has made her mark in both literary and television writing. She has received multiple accolades for her writing since her career as a novelist took off in 2022, when she received the prestigious Korea New Writer’s Award for her debut work Lazy Kinko. Yeon is an active contributor to the Brunch writing community and has worked as a freelance television writer for major networks including SBS, MBC, and YTN. During her free time, she finds solace in the art of pottery. Healing Season of Pottery is her second novel.

Clare Richards is an award-winning translator from Korean, of works by Kang Hwagil, Park Min-jung, and BTS, among others.