Fri, Oct 30  •  7:30pm

Breaking the Mold

Cheong Ye and Jenny Jackson

A conversation on what happens when characters no longer play nice

Fiction
Conversation
Pass Required
Passes available
Breaking the Mold
Breaking the Mold

Fri, Oct 30  •  7:30pm

Breaking the Mold

Cheong Ye and Jenny Jackson

A conversation on what happens when characters no longer play nice

Conversation
Fiction
Pass Required
Passes available

About

When the lives we’ve built no longer fit, what happens when we decide to break free? In Cheong Ye’s Orange and Bread Knife (translated by Slin Jung), a young teacher undergoes an experimental procedure that frees her from the guilt and emotional regulation that have shaped her life, but not without consequences. In Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect, a woman joins a close-knit friend group, but when she is cast out she decides if she is going down, she’s taking everyone with her. Together, Cheong Ye and Jackson explore the pressures of belonging, the desire for freedom and what happens when we stop playing by society’s rules.

The thrilling high-concept Korean bestseller about conforming to society's standards. HAPPINESS IS ALWAYS A CHOICE Youngah is a warm-hearted schoolteacher - always smiling, always yielding. She bends her life to everyone else's rules.

Published by Hachette Book Group

“Funny, drama-fueled, and full of Jackson's breezy wit. . . Brilliant.” —Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters “The platonic ideal of a beach read.” —The New York Times An ambitious young woman insinuates herself into a tight-knit social set, shaking up friendships and marriages in a small seaside town.

Published by Penguin Random House Canada

Cheong Ye is a Korean novelist and the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Excellence Prize in the short fiction category of the 9th Kyobo Bookstore Story Contest, the Grand Prize at both the 1st and 2nd K-Story Contests, and the Grand Prize in the novel category at the 6th Korean Science Fiction Literature Awards. In 2026, she was voted No. 1 in YES24’s “Young Writers Shaping the Future of Korean Literature,” after being nominated for the honor for three consecutive years beginning in 2024.

Jenny Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street and The Shampoo Effect. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, Jenny is vice president and editorial director of fiction at Alfred A.

Dates & Times

Fri, Oct 30
7:30pm
8:30pm
A book signing will follow this event

Tickets

Full Festival Pass
SOLD OUT
Regular $159
Under 30 $79
5-Day Festival Pass
Includes 5-day festival events. Excludes Masterclasses.
Regular $159
Under 30 $79
1-Day Friday
Includes all Friday events.
Excludes Masterclasses.
Regular $29
Under 30 $15
Pass Information
5-Day Festival Pass includes Barbara Kingsolver and East West Street: A Song of Good & Evil .
2-Day Weekend and 1-Day Passes do not include Winter Garden Theatre events.

Venue

Emmanuel College, Room 119
75 Queen's Park Crescent, Toronto, ON

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