Susan Benjamin


Susan Benjamin has researched communications and the cultural and political history of food for almost 40 years. She is founder of True Treats Historic Candy, the nation's only research-based candy store, which was listed by Food Network magazine, delish.com and Holiday Lettings, Trip Advisor's international arm, as one of the nation's top 50 “Sweet Spots.” A former communications strategist and college professor, she participated in a White House initiative under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and has written nine books on related subjects, and published in legal journals, newspapers and online publications.

Education

She studied philosophy and writing at Boston University and Bennington College and received her master's degree in Writing where she worked with her mentor, C.Michael Curtis, senior editor of The Atlantic. She was formerly a college professor and consultant, who mentored PhDs at Harvard and MIT, and taught at Emerson College and was an associate professor in the academics department of Berklee College of Music.

Works

Ms. Benjamin founded True Treats Candy in 2010. Benjamin's 2016 book, Sweet as Sin: The Unwrapped Story of How Candy Became America’s Pleasure, covers North America's history of candies and confections. Benjamin describes these candy stories as rich and deep, from a national, political, and human rights level. It also made the Smithsonian's "Best of Books about Food" for 2016. More recently, she has discussed the history of sugars and sweets on National Public Radio, Voice of America, ABC News Hour Radio and many more. Articles featuring Ms. Benjamin have appeared in such places as Salon.com, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Vice/Munchies.com, the Arizona Republic, the Sacramento Bee, Woman’s Day and Bon Appetit, among many others. Ms. Benjamin gives presentations at museums, historical societies and other venues throughout the nation, including the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Deadwood Museum in South Dakota, and the Mount Vernon Gardens and Hotel, where the New York Times cited her talk as one of the top five events of the weekend.