John Ferrone

John Ferrone was already a respected New York literary editor when he met James Beard and the two became lifelong friends. That friendship took Ferrone beyond his already illustrious list of authors—Anais Nin, Alice Walker, Eudora Welty, C.S. Lewis, Janet Flanner—into the world of food.

Working at night after he finished his day job, Ferrone began, out of a devotion to the friendship, editing scores of Beard's articles. Eventually he worked on some of Beard's books and continued to do so (as Beard's literary executor) after his death. The books include: the James Beard Cookbook, the Armchair James Beard, and several small format books, including: Soups and Stews and Poultry and Shellfish. Ferrone continues to steward Beard's books and attempt keep them in print.

Ferrone discusses not only he and Beard's friendship and their work together, but also others in Beard's circle. He also speaks of their many meals together. A list of those meals, compiled by Ferrone, is included in this file.

People:
Beard, James, 1903-1985
Brown, Helen Evans
Callvert, Isabel E.
Claiborne, Craig
Cofacci, Gino
Coward, Noel, 1899-1973
Ferrone, John
Flanner, Janet, 1892-1978
Sax, Irene
Triplette, Clay
Walker, Alice, 1944-
Welty, Eudora, 1909-2001
Wilson, José

Organizations:
Dell Publishing Company
Green Giant Company
Harcourt, Inc.

Subjects:
Authors and publishers
Cookbooks
Cooking, American -- History -- 20th century
Dinners and dining
Entertaining
Food writers
Gastronomy
Homosexuality
Manuscript preparation (Authorship)
Manuscripts -- Editing
Menus
Publishers and publishing
Restaurants -- New York (State) -- New York