Danielle Davenport is a cofounder of BEM | books & more, a bookstore and culinary destination devoted to food and literature of the African diaspora across genres and borders. BEM exists at the intersection of all things Black and culinary and literary, partnering with major publishers as well as cultural organizations including the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Food and Drink, the James Beard Foundation, and BRIC in furtherance of BEM’s mission of amplifying Black storytelling and foodways from a global and interdisciplinary perspective.

Her passion for food and words has extended to work in restaurants and as a translator, tutor, and editor over the course of her career. She has served as an Experiential Learning Lab Fellow at the NYU School of Law and is an alumna of Barnard College where she graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in theater and Comparative Literature and Society with a focus on the African diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has served on the Brooklyn Book Festival Nonfiction Committee and Center for Fiction First Novel Fête Committee and was named to Cherry Bombe’s Future of Food 50 List.