Mina Holland
Author/Journalist
Agent
Assistant
Biography
Mina Holland is a writer, editor and storyteller. She splits her time between the Guardian, where she is an editor on the Saturday Feast team, and writing about matters of food, drink and lifestyle for all manner of publications and brands, from Saveur to Suitcase, and Noble Rot to TOAST. She is the author of two books about food – The Edible Atlas: Around The World in 39 Cuisines (Canongate, 2014, translated into 11 other languages and available in 20 countries) and Mamma: Reflections On The Food That Makes Us (Orion, 2017) – and lives in London. Her memoir, Lifeblood, detailing her daughter’s diagnosis with a rare blood disorder, published in 2025 with Daunt Books.
Praise for LIFEBLOOD
‘The condition Mina Holland writes about may be extremely rare, but the story is universal. This book is so beautifully and poignantly written, it lifted me, and gave me strength to keep going. This book is important and an essential, life-enforcing read, especially during the difficult times we are all going through now.’ Olia Hercules
‘Such a powerful story, so delicately told. Mina Holland captures the shock and horror of a family’s life being shattered in an unimaginable way, and the extraordinary hope and love of parenthood.’ Hadley Freeman
‘Memoirs of birth and motherhood tend to follow a well-trodden path, of violence followed by calm, But what if the calm never comes? What if each day is more terrifying than the last? A tender, visceral, candid memoir–by turns raging and desperate–about parenting a child with a life-threatening condition, and how to live, and love, alongside it.’ Pandora Sykes
‘A captivating story of love and of what happens when you are faced with your greatest fear. Told with grace and compassion.’ Anna Jones
‘I couldn’t put this brave and stunningly written book down. Early motherhood is hard enough. Mina and her family are nails. I will be forever changed from reading this tender and raw account of one family’s fight to thrive.’ Emma Barnett
‘A book that is brimming in love in all its forms.’ Elle
Lifeblood (Daunt Books, 2025)
A raw, honest and moving memoir of caring for a baby with a rare and life-threatening illness.
When Vida is born to Mina and husband Freddie, it is love at first sight. She is perfect. But it is also clear from early on that something is not right.
This is the story of how Vida came to be diagnosed with rare blood disorder Diamond Blackfan Anaemia, and how Mina and her family’s lives were transformed by the experience of having a child with such a serious condition. Together, they move with fierce tenacity into a future that Mina never expected, but one that is rich with love, hope and community.
Intensely personal and yet exploring universal truths, Lifeblood is a beautiful and profound memoir of learning to look beyond the normal and cherish the precious present.
Publications
Selected Publications
A collection of oral histories with recipes exploring the influence of family on our relationship with food.
Food is key in our culture. Of late there has been a penchant for reinventing nostalgic home favourites in restaurants and cookbooks leading to a desire to know where our food and its traditions come from.
For most of us there is a desire to return to our childhood kitchen, the smells and tastes of the dishes evoke comfort and wonderful memories. Those childhood meal times form the foundation of our taste buds and how we now cook. MAMMA: REFLECTIONS ON THE FOOD THAT MAKES US is a collection of oral histories about the food we ate as a child, our mother’s cooking and all that it signifies and encapsulates throughout our life.
A fascinating trip around the globe, the book features interviews with some of the world’s best-loved cooks including Jamie Oliver, Yotam Ottolenghi, Claudia Roden, Alice Waters, Stanley Tucci and many more.
THE EDIBLE ATLAS is a book for intrepid cooks. Mina Holland explores what and why people eat as they do across the world, demystifying the flavours, ingredients, techniques and dishes at the heart of thirty-nine different cuisines. With fully adaptable recipes to suit beginners and confident cooks alike, learn to recreate dishes from different global cuisines – from a South Indian Coconut Fish Curry to a zingy Ceviche, from a yoghurty Jordanian Mansaf to a Danish Dream Cake, from an unbeatable Spanish Tortilla de Patatas to the ultimate Caribbean Jerk Chicken.
Weaving snippets of anecdote, history and literature in with recipes and words of wisdom from some of the world’s most seasoned food experts – such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Jacob Kenedy, José Pizarro and Giorgio Locatelli – The Edible Atlas is as comfortable in the kitchen as it is at your bedside.
