Congratulations to Erik Agard, winner of the 2022 Boswords Fall Themeless League, and to second- and third- place contestants Tyler Hinman and Will Nediger. League puzzle packs, videos, and full standings are available at boswords.org. Boswords Winter Wondersolve will take place February 5.
The 45th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will be held in Stamford, CT March 31-April 2, 2023. Registration opens January 1.
AVCX+ is accepting applications for up to two new crossword editors to join the team in 2023. Applications accepted through December 4.
AVCX submissions open December 1 and Inkubator submissions open January 1.
Since the last News & Notes, Taylor Johnson (11/14), Benji Goldsmith (11/19), Kanyin Ajayi (11/26), Chloe Revery (11/28), and David Rockow (11/29) made their NYT debuts. Congratulations to everyone! Here’s some of their other work we have enjoyed: Chloe’s presentation for !!Con 2020 and Taylor’s work with the Lemonade Disco series.
Jeff Chen, operator of XWord Info, recently appeared on the Creative License podcast. He talks about what drew him into the world of puzzles, how he brainstorms themes, and what keeps him coming back for more.
The New York Times has announced that Wordle will now be edited and tested similar to Spelling Bee and the crossword. Tracy Bennett, associate puzzle editor, will lead this work.
Steve Mossberg is excited to announce “Eight Cryptic Nights,” a free Chanukah-themed variety cryptic meta suite. A new puzzle will drop at 5:00 PM ET each night of the holiday starting on December 18. It’s full of Jewish culture, humor, and even a little Hebrew, but should be loads of fun whether or not you light the menorah, and can be solved at Square Pursuit.
“The Amazing Inventions of Eureka K. Jones,” a puzzle hunt by Eric Berlin is available now. For $7.99, you get eleven puzzles including a meta puzzle.
“The Charlotte Ledger Crossword Puzzle Collection” by Chris King is a book of 35 Charlotte-themed crossword puzzles that originally run on the Charlotte Ledger site (5 are new) for $12.99.
Fireball Newsflash Crosswords by Peter Gordon are timely, current-event themed puzzles delivered twice a month by email. Registrations open now through January 18 on Kickstarter for the 2023 series.
The newest additions to the Sit & Solve crossword book series, edited by Francis Heaney, are here: a “simple” edition by Brooke Husic, and a “tough” edition by Kameron Austin Collins. The previous pair, by Robyn Weintraub and Adesina O. Koiki, are still available as well.
And if you’re looking for more holiday gift ideas, BEQ shared some of his recommendations in a recent blog post. We second his plug for the Inkubator book, and also suggest the reprinted film-themed A24 book. Gift subscriptions to the Inkubator to support gender diversity in crosswords and AVCX to support the indie community at large are great ideas too.
Have a news tip for us? An idea to pitch? A puzzle or puzzle site to share? Let us know!
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