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John Hendrix



John Hendrix is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator. His books include “The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler,” called a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, “Drawing Is Magic: Discovering Yourself in a Sketchbook,” “Miracle Man: The Story of Jesus,” and many others. His award-winning illustrations have also appeared on book jackets, newspapers, and magazines all over the world. His newest book, “The Holy Ghost: A Spirited Comic,” with an introduction by Patrick McDonnell was released in 2022 from Abrams ComicArts. His next graphic novel, “The Mythmakers,” about the remarkable literary and spiritual friendship between C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, will be out in 2024, also from Abrams Books. Hendrix is the Kenneth E. Hudson Professor of Art and the founding chair of the MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture program at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2021, 3x3 Magazine named Hendrix the Educator of the Year in illustration.

Hendrix’s work has appeared in numerous publications, such as Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Esquire, The New York Times, and Time Magazine, National Geographic, among many others. He has also drawn book jackets for the likes of Scholastic, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Greenwillow Books, Knopf, Penguin, and Abrams Books. His images also appeared in advertising campaigns for ESPN/ABC, AT&T, Pfizer, and Target. John’s books have won numerous awards, including a Gold Medal from The Society of Illustrators for “The Faithful Spy” in 2018, which was also a YALSA Nonfiction medal finalist from American Library Association. His drawings have also appeared in the annual award publications, 3x3, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, Society for Publication Design, Communication Arts, AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers Show, and Print’s Regional Design Annual. He lives in Webster Groves with his wife Andrea, and two children, Jack and Annie.

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Making Visual Stories


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John Hendrix, Kenneth E. Hudson Professor of Art and chair of MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture, discusses how ‘the action of drawing teaches you to make ideas.’

Video: Washington University

Work by John Hendrix