How Judith Jones Changed Cookbooks Forever

The Sporkful

What do Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The Diary of Anne Frank have in common? A woman named Judith Jones fought for both of them to be published. Judith was an editor with a vision, someone who was able to see the potential in books that so many others dismissed. This week Dan talks with Sara B. Franklin, author of the new biography The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America. Sara met Judith a little over a decade ago, when she was hired to do a series of oral history interviews with Judith. That project grew into this biography, in which Sara tells the story of one of the most influential people ever to work in the world of cookbooks, or any books.

Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this episode stated that Judith Jones had two sisters. In fact, she only had one sister. The episode has been updated.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Giulia Leo. Publishing by Shantel Holder and transcription by Emily Nguyen.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

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