Eric Shansby | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985 |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupation(s) | editorial cartoonist, illustrator |
| Known for | "Below the Beltway" |
| Awards | Scholastic Press Association's 2002 Gold Circle Awards The Freedom Forum's Free Spirit Scholarship Maryland Scholastic Press and Quill & Scroll Society/National Newspaper Association's editorial cartoon awards |
| Website | www |
Eric Shansby (born 1985) commonly known as Shansby, is an American cartoonist and children's book illustrator. [1] [2] His cartoons appear in American news outlets, most prominently in The Washington Post alongside columns by humorist Gene Weingarten. [2]
Shansby grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. His mother was a librarian. [3] He was interested in art from a young age and would trace the images in the library books his mother brought home to him. [3] He drew caricatures of his classmates and teachers in elementary school. [3]
Shansby published his first comic strip in his sophomore year of Montgomery Blair High School, [3] where he was the art editor and a cartoonist for his high school newspaper. [3] He created both editorial cartoons and a strip OxyMoron. [4] There, he met Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten when Weingarten gave a guest lecture in Shansby's journalism class. [5] [6] When Weingarten first saw Shansby's work, he noted it was "breathtaking stuff." [7]
For his work in high school, Shansby won The Freedom Forum's Free Spirit Scholarship and the Maryland Scholastic Press and Quill & Scroll Society/National Newspaper Association's editorial cartoon awards. [3] At the 2002 Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Gold Circle Awards, he placed first in art/illustration portfolio, comic cartoons, editorial cartoons, and sports cartoons. [8] In addition, he came in second place for his cartoon portfolio and third place for editorial cartoons. [8] He graduated from high school in 2003. [4]
Shansby studied philosophy at Yale University, graduating in 2007. [9] [6] At Yale, he was a member of St. Anthony Hall and was also a political cartoonist for the Yale Daily News . [6] [3] [9]
While in high school, Shansby drew editorial cartoons for the weekly Montgomery County Sentinel . [5] [10] His political cartoons covered AIDS, environmental issues, gay marriage, human cloning, public education, and the Iraq War. [3] Once in college, he continued submitting to the Sentinel. [3] His work was also published in Young D.C. and The Report Press Law Magazine. [4]
In 2004, Gene Weingarten asked him to illustrate Below the Beltway, his weekly humor column in TheWashington Post Magazine. [6] [3] Shansby began contributing to Below the Beltway while he was a freshman in college. [1] He also had a regular feature on the KidsPost website. [5]
Shansby illustrated the 2014 children's book Me & Dog, a parable on atheism written by Weingarten. [11]
In September 2018, Shansby left Below the Beltway as part of the redesign of TheWashington Post Magazine. [12] Wiengarten stopped writing the column in 2021. [13]
On the Kojo Nnamdi Show, Shansby identified himself as a “culturally Jewish, American atheist.” [2]