Career
As a cartoonist and illustrator, John's work has appeared in Private Eye, The Guardian, The Bookseller, the BBC's in-house magazine Ariel and a wide range of other publications. As an author he has published more than forty books for adults and children with HarperCollins, Random House, Puffin, Macmillan, Penguin and the Smithsonian. Several have topped bestseller lists at Waterstones and Amazon. His cartooning guide Learn to Draw Cartoons has now reached its tenth edition, and Drawing Cartoons That Sell is credited by at least two cartoonists currently working for national newspapers as a formative influence on their early careers.
Broadcast work has included a residency as staff cartoonist on Nickelodeon TV, comedy writing for BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio, Channel 5 and the BBC World Service, and appearances on BBC TV and radio, E4 and Sky News.
As Resident Career Advisor to The Stage — the world's longest established performing arts publication, founded in 1880 — John spent more than twenty-five years interviewing over two thousand actors, directors, producers and casting directors working across stage and screen internationally. He is also co-director of New Wonder Management, a talent agency representing actors, presenters, directors and intimacy coordinators worldwide, with client credits including the Jurassic World franchise, Bridgerton, The Witcher, Wheel of Time, Top Boy, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
As a teacher and lecturer, John was the original tutor at the Museum of Cartoon Art and is a course tutor at the London Art College. His Learn Cartooning Live show has toured festivals and community events in the UK and internationally. He has lectured at LAMDA, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and Hangzhou University in China, and sits on the advisory board of the Association of Acting Coaches and Educators.
A Jack Petchey Award winner for his work in education and an IARA Award winner for his work promoting diversity in the arts, John is deeply committed to encouraging access and equal opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds. That commitment runs through everything he does — from one-to-one coaching sessions with individual actors and artists, to lectures for drama school students, to cartooning classes with young people who have never drawn before.
