Roger Smith Food Writers Conference

Is tradition in print food writing dead? The closing of Gourmet and the large number of jobs lost in traditional food magazines and newspapers suggests it is. If it is dead, what will replace it? And how can one make the alternatives financially viable? These were some of the questions that fifty-eight of America’s top writers, editors and agents addressed at the Roger Smith Food Writers’ Conference held last Friday, Saturday and Sunday (February 12-14). Twelve sessions and four workshops discussed the current and future state of food writing in newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, blogging, ezines, websites and ebooks. The main message was simple: The food writing field is in rapid transition and success now depends on adopting a multi-media approach to communicating – including traditional good writing plus video, blogging and social media. Attendees were excited by the possibilities of the new media, but how to make these new media generate full time salaries for professional food writers remains unclear, and many attendees wondered if professional food writing was dead– and it would now just become a hobby for those interested in food.

Andy Smith, Conference Organizer