This month, we are featuring gardener, greeting card crafter, and emerging themeless guru Katie Hoody (she/her). Originally from Minnesota, Katie now lives in Kansas with her spouse.
Katie! Thanks so much for letting us feature you in our Constructor Spotlight. I’m curious, what brought you to Kansas?
Moving to Kansas was a move home for my husband so he could be close to his dad. Before that, we lived in Dallas, TX for about 11 years, so in addition to being a move home for my husband, the move to Kansas was a move closer to home for me. Maybe I’ll get back to Minnesota eventually!
Does anyone (or any pet) live with you and your husband?
It’s just the two of us – no children, no pets, though I sometimes refer to the critters in our compost pile as our pets. I don’t individually name any of the creatures in our yard, but I do enjoy getting to know more about them. Our oregano plant was in bloom and teeming with life for a couple months last summer – lots of wasps and some butterflies with striking patterns on their wings. After admiring the butterflies for several weeks, I decided to see if I could find them online and was happy to learn they were the common buckeye. They’re quite beautiful, and I hope they’ll keep coming back.
It sounds like gardening is a hobby of yours.
I’ve been gardening for over a decade, but I still feel like a novice. For me, gardening is less about choosing what I want to grow and more about learning through trial and error what seems to like to grow in our garden. For example, radishes are far from my favorite vegetable, but they love the conditions in our yard, so I grow (and eat!) lots of radishes every year.
We’ve reinforced our chain link fence with chicken wire to keep the rabbits out, but other than that we don’t do anything to deter insects and other critters from enjoying the garden. We just hope they leave some veggies for us, and they usually do. I used to worry when swallowtail caterpillars devoured our carrot greens, but the carrots underground were fine, so now I just enjoy watching them munch away.
There seems to be a letting-go of control in your approach to gardening. I wonder if there’s a parallel in crossword construction?
That is such an interesting question! I don’t usually think of myself as good at letting go of control, so I appreciate you characterizing my approach that way. I’d never thought about it before, but I do think there may be a parallel between my approach to gardening and my approach to constructing themeless crosswords. I tend to start with a grid shape rather than a seed entry, so I have no attachment to any particular entry ending up in the grid. I explore the grid to see which entries fit well together, much like experimenting to see what vegetables seem to want to grow in my garden.
Of course, I don’t fully relinquish control. If I didn’t plant seeds, add water, and pull weeds, my garden would not produce many things I would be willing to eat. And if I just clicked “auto fill” and went with whatever the construction software came up with, I would be unlikely to produce a puzzle worthy of publication. In both cases the best results come from experimenting, learning what works, and knowing when to keep pushing, let go, or say, “good enough” and step back to enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of my labor.
How did you get into constructing?
I was a regular solver in my 20s but had recently been only an occasional solver until I took it up again as a distraction during a difficult stretch of health problems. After solving daily for a couple weeks, I decided to try making a crossword, just to see if I could do it. I was unaware of the existence of crossword construction software, so my first puzzle was a 15×15 grid constructed on a sheet of graph paper. That modest success whetted my appetite for more, and so, my adventure began.
Did you have a mentor?
For about eighteen months, I worked without a mentor, learning from studying published puzzles and from feedback in rejection letters. Early last year, after a discouraging string of rejections, I reached out to Robyn Weintraub to ask if she would be willing to look at my filled themeless grids from time to time and point out any areas of concern. We’ve had several back-and-forths about grids since then, each of which has been invaluable, not just regarding the particular puzzle in question, but also helping build general principles to apply to all my puzzles.
Around the same time, I applied for the Lil AVCX mentorship and was delighted to be invited to join their 2025 roster. Matt Luter mentored me as I created a series of midi puzzles – the experience exceeded my expectations. I highly encourage emerging constructors to consider applying for the Lil AVCX mentorship!
For those unfamiliar with Lil AVCX, can you talk a bit about it and what it’s been like for you?
Sure! Lil AVCX is the midi and mentorship branch of AVCX. Each new roster member works with a mentor to create a series of midi crosswords. There are multiple rounds of feedback from editors, test solvers, and fact checkers. It was incredibly illuminating to be involved in so many different stages of the publication process. I didn’t anticipate how much I would learn about clue writing from having several opportunities to fine tune the clues for each puzzle. The process led to a more polished finished product, and the lessons I learned along the way will stick with me.
In addition to the one-to-one mentorship, I have really benefited from being a part of the Lil AVCX Discord community. I am an introverted homebody who is quite content working independently, so before reaching out to Robyn last January and then applying for the Lil AVCX mentorship, I hadn’t had direct interactions with anyone in the crossword community other than the editors I submitted puzzles to. I was a bit intimidated by the Discord community at first, but the editors made it clear that, apart from occasional administrative matters, participation is completely optional. I gave myself time to settle into the experience and eventually started jumping in on conversations here and there that caught my interest. I’m grateful to be able to remain a part of the Lil community even though my year on the roster is done. I’m looking forward to seeing the work of the new roster of constructors this year. Readers might not have heard this yet, but there is an awesome new Lil AVCX editor named Jess Rucks!
Aw, thanks! When I reached out to see if you wanted to do this feature, I wasn’t yet part of the Lil AVCX team. Now, we both have a chance to benefit from the amazing community there (love that for us). Also, I think we have to share the many surprising other connections we discovered after talking back and forth via email and on Discord: we’re both from Minnesota; we both attended the College of Saint Benedict (at different times); we both majored in philosophy; we both cite the same professor as a major positive influence (shout-out to Steve Wagner) – in fact, we both had him as our academic advisor; we both worked at the same coffee shop in downtown St. Joseph; and we both got into crosswords at that very same coffee shop. Holy buckets, Katie! Maybe we should visit that coffee shop and start a puzzle there together (I feel like it would be a collab blessed by the crossword gods!).
I smell a coffee-themed collaboration in our future!
Yessss. Aside from Lil AVCX, where are you published?
I’ve had puzzles published in the Modern, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, AVCX Classic, and The Atlantic.
Any other hobbies besides crosswords and gardening?
I enjoy crafting, especially making greeting cards. Before becoming a crossword constructor, my card designs included vegetables, flowers, and quirky insects made with watercolor paper cutouts. Lately, most of the cards I make feature custom crossword minis created in honor of birthdays and such. It’s lots of fun to create a puzzle tailored to one specific person, with full creative license to write clues with inside jokes and references only they would get. For example, I clued ONION as [Ingredient best left out of any recipe] in a puzzle for my brother.
What do you strive to create when you make a crossword?
At its core, my goal is to create an enjoyable experience for solvers. When I started constructing crosswords, I was motivated in part by the thought that crossword puzzles are a fun pastime that help keep minds active and sharp. I had a sense that publishing a puzzle could make a small positive contribution to the lives of many people. I don’t think I fully internalized that a puzzle might also cause a lot of frustration until I read solver comments about my first NYT puzzle.
I have since accepted that no single puzzle will please everyone, so rather than trying to create a puzzle that every solver will enjoy, I now think more in terms of trying to provide an enjoyable experience for solvers who tend to like the type of puzzle I am trying to create.
I’ve heard the advice to create the type of puzzle you enjoy solving, and some of my favorite puzzles to solve are challenging puzzles in which the difficulty comes from tricky wordplay rather than from unfamiliar entries. As much as possible, I try to fill my grids with lively words and phrases that are familiar, have good cluing potential, and opportunities for fun misdirection. My default difficulty level seems to run high, so my puzzles tend to be rather challenging (perhaps unpleasantly so when the misdirection flops!).
I also enjoy including subtle nods to friends and family in my puzzles. I don’t specifically set out to do so, but I take opportunities when they arise as long as they don’t require significant compromises in the surrounding fill. For example, it was meaningful to me to include DAISIES in one of my NYT puzzles because my mom loved daisies. Anything related to Pokémon reminds me of my nephews, and my niece has turned me into a “Bluey” fan, so I’m on the lookout for an opportunity to include BLUEY in a puzzle.
You’re preaching to the choir about “Bluey,” best kids show ever! What advice would you give to new or aspiring constructors?
I find it tricky to give advice without knowing the particulars of someone’s situation. I’ve heard a story about a Buddhist monk describing teaching as watching students walking down a road with a ditch on each side. If he saw a student veering too much to the left, he would say, “Go right, go right!” And if he saw a student veering too much to the right, he would say, “Go left, go left!” Which is to say – advice is contextual and probably most useful when tailored to an individual’s unique situation.
Perhaps the best general advice I could give is if you’re having difficulty navigating the path you’re on, try to find someone who you think could point you in a good direction. This is ultimately why I sought mentorship last year, and I’m very glad that I did! But I’m also very glad that I played around on my own before seeking mentorship. So, I wouldn’t say every new constructor needs a mentor, but if someone is feeling stuck and discouraged, I think it’s a good thing to consider.
What’s something about you that might surprise readers?
Some readers might be surprised to learn that my husband is Fritz Juhnke, who made his NYT crossword debut last summer. He’s also the one who developed the Grid Flow metric that appears on XWord Info and Crosserville. In addition to not sharing a last name, I call him Karl rather than Fritz, so even people who have heard me mention my husband by name may not be aware of the connection between us.
Will we see any wife-and-husband collaborations in the future?!
We serve as each other’s primary sounding boards, but so far, our puzzles have been mostly individual endeavors. Maybe someday!
As we wrap up, will you tell us about constructing for the Midwest Crossword Tournament?
It was a great experience! I was honored (and nervous) to be asked to construct the final puzzle, since I’d never made a tournament puzzle or attended a tournament. Editors Christina Iverson and Tracy Bennett provided helpful tips about tournament puzzles to get me started, and I also solved and studied the puzzles from the previous Midwest Crossword Tournament and ACPT. I checked in with Christina and Tracy at several points along the way to make sure I was heading in a good direction, and I always felt confident that their editing would turn whatever I came up with into an even better finished product.
I really enjoyed volunteering at the tournament – especially getting to meet crossword folks in person and having a chance to watch top solvers work through my puzzle on the big boards on stage. That was a unique and surreal experience I will likely never forget!
Rapid-Fire Round:
Do you still drink coffee after working at Meeting Grounds? If so, favorite coffee drink?
Don’t tell my old coffee shop bosses, but I have actually never been a coffee drinker!
Veggie you wish would grow in your garden?
We transplanted a few asparagus shoots from a community garden into our garden last year, so I am eager to see if they pop up in the spring.
Philosopher who had a large impact on your life?
Albert Camus and the teachings of the Buddha
Constructing or solving?
I spend far more time constructing than solving, but I enjoy both!
Go-to emoji?
🙌 for yay! 😬for yikes!
Three words your closest friend(s) would use to describe you.
No party animal
Dear reader, we have one more topic to talk about. If it isn’t obvious by now, one important thing Katie and I share is our Minnesotan identity. We both grew up there, and we both still think of it as home.
My heart has been heavy lately. I spend a lot of time following the news (now I watch KARE 11 out of Minnesota to get a clearer picture of what is happening there), reading firsthand accounts from friends and acquaintances, and checking in often with family and friends. Even though I’m not physically there, my heart very much is. What I’m seeing, hearing, and feeling is like a never-ending rollercoaster: each day, revealing the best and worst of humanity – cruelty, intimidation, and violence – met with a fierce unity – people bound together by shared trauma, by hope in the face of it, and by an unwavering belief in the power of community and love.
I have always been fiercely proud to be from Minnesota (every one of my tattoos is Minnesota-related), but never more so than now. When George Floyd was murdered, I felt profound grief, shame, and confusion that something like that could happen in my state. Over time, I came to recognize the privilege embedded in that surprise. What we’re experiencing now feels similar, but strangely inverted, if that makes sense? If we come out of this intact, I think it will be impossible to ignore how much resilience, grit, and collective growth Minnesota has experienced.
Katie, does any of this resonate with you?
Definitely! My friends and family throughout Minnesota are in the forefront of my mind every day, and like you, I’ve been experiencing a mix of heartbreak, worry, and Minnesota pride. One of my recent NYT puzzles included the entry AMOS. While researching a clue for it, I came across a passage in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that struck me as very powerful. He describes having initially been disappointed about being called an extremist, but later, gaining satisfaction from the label when he began to consider Jesus as an extremist for love and Amos as an extremist for justice. He writes, “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.”
I’m grateful I happened upon this passage when writing that clue several months ago, because it has helped me feel less angry when I see the label “extremist networks” being used to characterize groups of Minnesotans banding together to support and care for each other. I think to myself, these are indeed acts of extreme compassion, extreme caring, extreme conviction, extreme courage, and in some cases devastatingly extreme sacrifice. I see reasons every day to admire and feel proud of the many ways in which Minnesotans are standing up to protect themselves, their neighbors, and their communities, and I believe that if we make it to the other side of this dark period in our country’s history, their stories will be added to the already existing collection of tales of the heroic courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times.
🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬🙌😬
If you are looking for a way to help Minnesotans, here is a link to many vetted charities and some GoFundMes. https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
Here is a link to donate to the ACLU, which also has some great resources to discover via their home page. https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Jess Rucks is a crossword constructor and play therapist. She is delighted to combine her love of learning about others with her love of crosswords for DCL’s Constructor Spotlight.