Philip Yancey

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Philip Yancey earned graduate degrees in Communications and English from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago. He joined the staff of Campus Life Magazine in 1971, and worked there as Editor and then Publisher. He looks on those years with gratitude, because teenagers are demanding readers, and writing for them taught him a lasting principle: The reader is in control!

In 1978 Philip Yancey became a full-time writer, initially working as a journalist for such varied publications as Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Weekly, National Wildlife, Christian Century and The Reformed Journal. For many years he wrote a monthly column for Christianity Today magazine, where for quite a while he also served as Editor at Large.

His 25 books include these popular titles: Vanishing Grace (2015), The Question That Never Goes Away (2013), Where Is God When It Hurts (1977), The Student Bible (1986), and Disappointment with God (1988). His books have earned thirteen Gold Medallion Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and have sold more than seventeen million copies. Christian bookstore managers selected The Jesus I Never Knew as the 1996 Book of the Year, and What’s So Amazing About Grace? won the same award in 1998.

Among Yancey’s most recent books are Where the Light Fell: A Memoir (2021), A Companion in Crisis (2021), A Skeptic’s Guide to Faith (2009), and  Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? (2006). In 2009 a daily reader compiled from all his books was published: Grace Notes.  Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image (2019) and The Gift of Pain (1997) were co-authored with Dr. Paul Brand.

Philip’s books have been translated into some 50 languages.  He and his wife are actively committed to visiting foreign countries where avid readers enjoy his translated works.  The Yanceys lived in downtown Chicago for many years before moving to a very different environment in Colorado. They enjoy skiing, hiking, wildlife, and all the other delights of the Rocky Mountains.