Judith Jones
Encyclopedia
Judith B. Jones is a senior editor and vice president at Knopf. In 1950 she rescued The Diary of Anne Frank from the rejects pile. In 1960 she championed a cookbook no other publisher would touch, named it Mastering the Art of French Cooking
, and became Julia Child's
editor from then on. She ushered all of John Updike's
books into print, including the posthumous titles, and edited many other important works both culinary and literary.
Jones has written a number of cookbooks herself, as well as a cookbook/memoir, The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. Raised in New England, she lives in New York City
and summers in Northern Vermont
, where she also raises grass-fed cattle on the Bryn Teg farm.
Her husband and collaborator Evan Jones died in 1996. The couple had no children.
and Jean-Paul Sartre
. Before that she worked for Doubleday, first in New York
and then in Paris
, where she read and recommended The Diary of Anne Frank, pulling it out of the rejection pile.
Major culinary authors Jones has brought into print include Lidia Bastianich
, James Beard
, Julia Child
, Marion Cunningham
, Rosie Daley, Edward Giobbi
, Marcella Hazan
, Madhur Jaffrey
, Edna Lewis
, Joan Nathan
, Scott Peacock, Jacques Pépin
, Claudia Roden
, and Nina Simonds. The 18-book Knopf Cooks American series was Judith's creation. She is also the longtime editor of John Updike
, Anne Tyler
, John Hersey
, Elizabeth Bowen
, Peter Taylor
and William Maxwell
.
Jones has contributed to Vogue
, Saveur
, and Gourmet
magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation
Lifetime Achievement Award.
She was portrayed by American actress Erin Dilly
in the 2009 film, Julie & Julia
.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both of France, and Julia Child of the United States...
, and became Julia Child's
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
editor from then on. She ushered all of John Updike's
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
books into print, including the posthumous titles, and edited many other important works both culinary and literary.
Jones has written a number of cookbooks herself, as well as a cookbook/memoir, The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. Raised in New England, she lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and summers in Northern Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, where she also raises grass-fed cattle on the Bryn Teg farm.
Her husband and collaborator Evan Jones died in 1996. The couple had no children.
Editor
Jones joined Knopf in 1957 as an editor working mainly on translations of French writers such as Albert CamusAlbert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
and Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
. Before that she worked for Doubleday, first in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and then in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where she read and recommended The Diary of Anne Frank, pulling it out of the rejection pile.
Major culinary authors Jones has brought into print include Lidia Bastianich
Lidia Bastianich
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is an American chef, author, and restaurateur....
, James Beard
James Beard
James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
, Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
, Marion Cunningham
Marion Cunningham (author)
Marion Cunningham is a California-born award-winning American food writer.Cunningham was responsible for the 1990 revision of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and is the author of The Breakfast Book, and Cooking with Children...
, Rosie Daley, Edward Giobbi
Edward Giobbi
Edward Gioachino Giobbi is an American artist and cookbook author.Giobbi's paintings and other renderings appear in collections in the U.S. and, particularly, in Italy. His works have been shown in solo and group shows featuring a range from abstract impressionism to pop art...
, Marcella Hazan
Marcella Hazan
Marcella Hazan, maiden name Marcella Polini, is an Italian cookery writer who writes in English. Her cookbooks are credited with introducing the public in the United States and Britain to the techniques of traditional Italian cooking...
, Madhur Jaffrey
Madhur Jaffrey
Madhur Jaffrey is an Indian actress and food writer who introduced the Western world to the many cuisines of India.- Personal life :...
, Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis was an African-American chef and author best known for her books on traditional Southern cuisine.-Early life and career:...
, Joan Nathan
Joan Nathan
Joan Nathan is an award-winning American author of cookbooks. She has also produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine.-Biography:...
, Scott Peacock, Jacques Pépin
Jacques Pépin
Jacques Pépin is an internationally recognized French chef, television personality, and author working in the United States. Born in Bourg-en-Bresse, Lyon in France, Pepin was raised by a father and mother who jointly owned a restaurant, where he later credited the start of his love for food. He...
, Claudia Roden
Claudia Roden
Claudia Roden is a cookbook writer based in the United Kingdom. She was born 1936 in Cairo, Egypt. After completing her formal education in Paris, she moved to London to study art...
, and Nina Simonds. The 18-book Knopf Cooks American series was Judith's creation. She is also the longtime editor of John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
, Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is an American novelist.Tyler, the eldest of four children, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father was a chemist and her mother a social worker. Her early childhood was spent in a succession of Quaker communities in the mountains of North Carolina and in Raleigh...
, John Hersey
John Hersey
John Richard Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer and journalist considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling devices of the novel are fused with non-fiction reportage...
, Elizabeth Bowen
Elizabeth Bowen
Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen, CBE was an Irish novelist and short story writer.-Life:Elizabeth Bowen was born on 7 June 1899 at 15 Herbert Place in Dublin, Ireland and was baptized in the nearby St Stephen's Church on Upper Mount Street...
, Peter Taylor
Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor
For other people named Peter Taylor, see Peter Taylor.Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor was a U.S. author and writer.-Biography:...
and William Maxwell
William Maxwell
William Maxwell may refer to:*William Maxwell , Irish-born American soldier from New Jersey in the American Revolutionary War*General Sir William Maxwell, 7th Baronet of Calderwood...
.
Author
Jones wrote three books with her husband Evan, and has written two on her own since his passing, one on cooking for one person, as well as a memoir of her life and food.- “Learning to like cooking alone is an ongoing process. But the alternative is worse.” --Judith Jones
Jones has contributed to Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, Saveur
Saveur
Saveur is a gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that specializes in essays about various world cuisines. The publication was co-founded by Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Colman Andrews, who was also the editor-in-chief from 1996 to 2001...
, and Gourmet
Gourmet (magazine)
Gourmet magazine was a monthly publication of Condé Nast and the first U.S. magazine devoted to food and wine. Founded by Earle R. MacAusland and first published in 1941, Gourmet also covered "good living" on a wider scale....
magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation
James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and...
Lifetime Achievement Award.
She was portrayed by American actress Erin Dilly
Erin Dilly
Erin Dilly is an American actress. She is most noted for her portrayal of Truly Scrumptious in the 2005 musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Outer Critics Circle Award.Dilly was raised in...
in the 2009 film, Julie & Julia
Julie & Julia
Julie & Julia is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Amy Adams, and Chris Messina...
.
External links
- Judith Jones' Blog
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17809903Judith Jones reads from Tenth MuseTenth MuseThe Tenth Muse is an independent superhero comic book series about a modern-day daughter of the Greek god Zeus. It was created in 2000 by Darren G. Davis and originally written by Marv Wolfman...
on NPR], January 8, 2008 - Lecture Review: Knopf editor Judith Jones charms audience, Tuesday, April 7, 2009, by Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette