Eric Shansby

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 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 The Washington 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 The Washington 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]

• Me & Dog. Simon & Schuster, Simon & Schuster, 2014. Written by Gene Weingarten and illustrated by Eric Shansby. ISBN 9781442494138^[2][14]

• Compleating Cul de Sac. Thompson, Richard, et al. Team Cul de Sac and ComicsDC, 2015.
• Failure by Design: The Story Behind America’s Broken Economy. Bivens, Josh. Cornell University Press, 2011. ISBN 9780801461132
• World Politics in a New Era, 4th Edition. Spiegel, Steven L., et al. Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 0495007595
• Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year 2007. Brooks, Charles (Ed.). Pelican Publishing, 2007. ISBN 9781589804593
• Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year 2006. Brooks, Charles (Ed.). Pelican Publishing, 2006. ISBN 9781589803978
• Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year 2005. Brooks, Charles (Ed.). Pelican Publishing, 2005. ISBN 9781589802841
• Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year 2004. Brooks, Charles (Ed.). Pelican Publishing, 2004. ISBN 9781589802001