About
© Katrín Björk
Sara B. Franklin is a writer and professor at New York University's Gallatin School for Individualized Study, where she teaches courses on food, oral history, embodied culture, and non-fiction writing. She has written for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Literary Hub, The Nation, and Travel & Leisure. Her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Her first book, Edna Lewis: At the Table with An American Original (ed.), the first full-length examination and celebration of one of the most influential figures in U.S. food history, received wide acclaim. She is co-author of the James Beard-award finalist The Phoenicia Diner Cookbook, which was called one of 2020's "essential" cookbooks by the Independent UK, celebrated as a best cookbook of the season by The New York Times, and named one of the best cookbooks of the year by Esquire.
© Katrín Björk
Sara’s writing and teaching are informed by her training in history, community health, and documentary studies. Before turning to writing and teaching full-time, she worked as an organic vegetable farmer, a restaurant critic, an urban agriculture instructor, a research consultant at the American Museum of Natural History, and a grassroots anti-poverty and sustainable agriculture advocate nationally across the U.S., as well as in South Africa and Brazil
Sara holds a PhD in Food Studies from New York University and a BA in history and community health from Tufts University. She trained in oral history at the Columbia Center for Oral History, and studied documentary radio and non-fiction at both the Duke Center for Documentary Studies and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
Sara lives with her twin children, rambunctious dog, and a flock of hens in Kingston, New York.