Matthew Diffee

Doodles of a Tex Yorker

As a writer and an artist, Matthew Diffee likes to make people laugh and share his insights into the creative process. He’s contributed cartoons to The New Yorker since 1999 and is the editor of three volumes of a cartoon collection published by Simon & Schuster. A self-proclaimed “Tex Yorker,” Diffee grew up in Texas and eventually wound up in New York City, meaning his work often appears in The New Yorker and Texas Monthly magazines. 

Now a resident of Los Angeles (but in a good way), Diffee is working on a new book for Scribner called “Hand Drawn Jokes for Smart Attractive People.” He’s done illustration work for bands like the Punch Brothers and for a special collector’s edition of Stephen King’s novel “Under the Dome.” Last year Diffee received the Silver Reuben Award for best single-panel cartoonist of the year and was recently named Chairman of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society.

Diffee’s unique pieces have also appeared in Time and The Huffington Post. He’s also spoken at venues such as The Smithsonian Institute and The New Yorker Festival, and appeared on college and comedy stages all over the country with features in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, PBS, ABC, and others.