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Lucy Knisley: Class of 1989

Lucy Knisley: Class of 1989

Lucy Knisley, class of 1989, discovered her lifelong passion for reading, writing and illustrating while she was a student at The Washington Market School. Lucy is a child of an artist and culinary expert and was born and raised in Tribeca until moving upstate with her mother. Many of her core memories and close friendships stem from her time at WMS in the 1980s.

Currently residing in Evanston, IL with her family, Lucy is an author-illustrator of graphic novels and comics. She received her BFA from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA from The Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. She began her professional publishing career directly after receiving her degrees and has worked as an author ever since. 

When thinking back to where her love of books began, she credits the book-positive environment of WMS. She remembers always being encouraged to read and explore different kinds of books in the classroom. The first book Lucy ever created was at The Washington Market School when one of her teachers showed her how to staple pages together - a defining moment in her life and she has never looked back. From that moment on, she began copying every book she could find around her WMS classroom, even ones about things she strongly disliked, such as snakes.


Now a mother, Lucy wishes that her child’s school embodied the strong community and child-led learning that she feels lucky to have been a part of at WMS. Lucy credits many of her close friendships to her time at WMS. One of her first comics was written about Jane Augustine, class of 1989! The deep sense of community at The Washington Market School is still very much a part of Lucy’s life, even from so far away!