‘Bon Appétit’ Brings In Simon & Schuster Publisher Dawn Davis As Its New Editor-In-Chief

Bon Appétit has a new editor-in-chief.

Nearly two months after its former EIC, Adam Rapoport, exited amid allegations of widespread racism within the culinary giant, parent company Condé Nast has tapped longtime book publisher and editor Dawn Davis.

Davis will lead editorial across print, digital, video, TV programming, and social media for flagship Bon Appétit as well as Condé Nast’s other food brands–Epicurious, Healthyish, and Basically. She will take up the role Nov. 2, and will report to fashion mogul Anna Wintour, EIC of Vogue and artistic director for Condé Nast U.S.

Until November, Davis will remain in her current position as publisher at 37 INK, the Simon & Schuster imprint she founded in 2013. 37 INK is known for publishing Black authors; it focuses on acquiring books that “represent a diverse array of cultures and viewpoints,” as Davis told NPR. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Davis worked at two of the other big five book publishers: HarperCollins, where she was VP and editorial director, and Penguin Random House, where she was a senior editor.

In these roles, she acquired and published acclaimed books and bestsellers including Whiting Award winner Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

, National Book Award finalist Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae, and I Can’t Make This Up by Kevin Hart.

“Like the Bon Appétit brand, I see food at the epicenter of all we do,” Davis said in a statement. “Food is connected to community and culture, economics and family. Decisions about what we eat and with whom, who produces our food and how, influences almost every aspect of our lives.” She added that she intends to create “intriguing and inclusive recipes and stories about the intersections between food and family, culture and commerce.”

Davis is the third high-profile hire Bon Appétit has made in the weeks since Rapoport’s departure. Earlier this month, it brought in former Vox exec Sonia Chopra as its new executive editor, and last week, it hired restauranteur, cookbook author, and TV personality Marcus Samuelsson as advisor and guest editor.

Bon Appétit has also seen a number of high-profile exits. Seven hosts and staffers from its popular digital series Test Kitchen have left the brand’s video arm over allegations of racist pay disparities.