Julia Evans Reed

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Julia Evans Reed (September 11, 1960 – August 28, 2020) was a Mississippi Delta born author, journalist, columnist, speaker, and socialite. Reed wrote several books on cooking, entertaining, and modern southern lifestyle and culture. She interviewed a wide array of well-known people in politics, fashion, music, film and design from Condoleezza Rice to Tammy Wynette. [1]

Early life[]

Reed was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and attended the Madeira School, a boarding school in McLean, Virginia. She studied at Georgetown University and American University.[2] Her father, Clarke Reed, is a businessman and former Republican Party leader. Her mother, Judy Brooks Reed, is from a prominent and wealthy Nashville family. As a child, Reed's parents hosted and entertained guests such as William F. Buckley Jr. and The Reagans [[]].[3]

Career[]

Reed wrote her first article for the Washington Bureau of Newsweek magazine in 1980, covering the story of her former Madeira headmistress, Jean Harris' murder of partner Herman Tarnower.[4] She continued with the magazine as a contributing editor and columnist.[5]

Reed started as contributing editor for "Garden & Gun" in 2008 and remained in that position until her death. She was also an editor and writer for Vogue magazine since 1988, where she wrote about politics and culture and profiled the Clintons and Bushes, also interviewing Oprah Winfrey for the Wall Street Journal She was a contributor to the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and Elle Décor, among other publications.[6]

She expanded the Delta Hot Tamale Festival from one-day to a three-day event, exponentially increasing the economic benefit to her hometown.[7] Reed opened Brown Water Books, a bookstore in the historicWetherbee House in Greenville. She was co-founder of Reed-Smythe, an online business supporting independent artisans. In 2019, she was named Cultural Ambassador of Mississippi’s Arts Commission.[8] She served on the board of the Ogden Museum of Art in New Orleans, the Eudora Welty Foundation, and the Link Stryjewski Foundation.[2]

Personal[]

Reed was married to John Pearce; the couple divorced prior to her death.[4] She maintained two residences, one in New Orleans and the other in Mississippi, on a property adjacent to her childhood home.[9]

Selected works[]

Her books include:[10][11]

  • But Mama Always Puts Vodka in Her Sangria 2013
  • Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties
  • Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena.
  • The House on First Street: My New Orleans Story (P.S.)
  • Julia Reed’s New Orleans: Food, Fun, and Field Trips for Letting the Good Times Roll[12]
  • Julia Reed's South: Spirited Entertaining and High-Style Fun All Year Long
  • One Man's Folly: The Exceptional Houses of Furlow Gatewood
  • South Toward Home: Adventures and Misadventures in My Native Land 2018
  • S Is for Southern: A Guide to the South, from Absinthe to Zydeco (Garden & Gun Books)

References[]

  1. ^ "Julia Reed". flowermag.com. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 2020-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b "Greenville's Julia Reed, famous author, has died | The Northside Sun". www.northsidesun.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  3. ^ Green, Penelope (2020-09-04). "Julia Reed, Chronicler of Politics, Food and the South, Dies at 59". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  4. ^ a b Bowles, Hamish (30 August 2020). "Remembering Julia Reed, 'Mississippi's Answer to Dorothy Parker'". Vogue. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  5. ^ "Julia Reed, Author, Journalist, Columnist from Greenville, Mississippi". www.mswritersandmusicians.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  6. ^ Alta Spells. "Longtime author, columnist and speaker Julia Reed dies at 59". CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  7. ^ "Southbound Southbound Fall/Winter 2018 Page 14". trendmag2.trendoffset.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  8. ^ "Author Julia Reed, chronicler of Southern life and food, dies at 59". al. Associated Press. 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  9. ^ Hunt, Emma (2018-10-11). "Editor and writer Julia Reed on her hometown culinary favorites". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  10. ^ "Julia Reed | Authors | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  11. ^ "Julia Reed Author". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "Tour Author Julia Reed's New Orleans Home". www.onekingslane.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
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