Kat Menschik

Kat Menschik was born on 6 April 1968 in Luckenwalde. She grew up in East Berlin and, thanks to her father, who worked as a graphic designer, had access to paper, pencils and paints from an early age. After training as a window dresser, she studied communication design at the Universität der Künste Berlin from 1992 to 1999 and, from 1999 onwards, worked mainly as an illustrator and comic artist, including for the FAZ. In 2002, her first illustrated book, Die Nixen von Estland by Enn Vetemaa, was published, following which she was published by Hans Magnus Enzensberger in the Die Andere Bibliothek series, which she later helped to shape herself. In an interview with SWR, Menschik described this moment as “one of the defining moments of my life”. Among other works, she has illustrated classics such as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (2016), Kafka’s A Country Doctor (2016), E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Mines of Falun (2027) and Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades (2020), as well as an Illustriertes Kompendium der psychoaktiven Pflanzen (2022) in collaboration with Jakob Hein, and, together with Babylon Berlin author Volker Kutscher, Moabit (2017) and Westend (2025). Menschik’s vibrantly coloured illustrations are characterised by a blend of retro and Art Nouveau styles, whilst remaining contemporary. She works with ink on paper and colours her drawings digitally.

In 2007, she was awarded the Troisdorf Picture Book Prize, and in 2021 she received the German Booksellers’ Calendar Prize for the best graphic design.

Romeo und Julia
by William Shakespeare
Berlin, 2016

Moabit
by Volker Kutscher
Berlin, 2017

Essen essen
Berlin, 2019

Pique Dame
by Alexander Pushkin
Berlin, 2020

Kat Menschiks und des Psychiaters Doctor medicinae Jakob Hein Illustrirtes Kompendium der psychoaktiven Pflanzen
with Jakob Hein
Berlin, 2022

Westend
by Volker Kutscher
Berlin, 2025