T. Campbell’s annual The Year In Crosswords covers the good, the bad, and the ugly in all of Crossworld in 2022. This long issue is a full who’s who and what’s what, including Wordle and its variants, changes in publications, fundraisers, tournaments, indie projects, software, AI, books and media, and more.
Sam Ezersky was profiled in Virginia Magazine, where he discussed the popularity of Spelling Bee during the pandemic and offers some of his best puzzling tips. The article is accompanied by a free series of short word puzzles inspired by Spelling Bee.
Congratulations to the 2023 Lil AVC X roster: Darby Ratliff, Dob Olino, Eric Mao, Jimmy Peniston, Kelly Nguyen Dickson, Lila Goldenberg, meatdaddy69420, Nancy Serrano-Wu, Nijah Morris, and Pravan Chakravarthy! We are so excited for the puzzles to come from this year’s bunch of up-and-coming constructors.
Congratulations to Nate Cardin, who has joined the editorial team at AVCX Cryptic!
Since the last News & Notes, Gustie Owens (12/4), Anthony J. Caruso (12/12), Julietta Gervase (12/13), John Martz (12/25), Josh Goodman (12/28), Seth Bisen-Hersh (1/2), Laura Breiman (1/4), Tom Bachant (1/4) made their NYT debuts. Congratulations to everyone!
We have been enjoying the latest offering from Puzzle Society: The Modern Crossword. Monday through Friday puzzles are midis of increasing size, Saturdays are themed puzzles by open submission, and Sundays are themeless puzzles by members of the editing team and invited constructors. The themes and content hold up to the puzzle’s moniker: the interface allows for alternate clues if solvers get stuck, and some clues and answers are accompanied by a constructor’s note.
We are also loving the new crosswords from Xtra, a LGBTQ2S+ online magazine. Puzzles are published the first of each month and are constructed by Ada Nicolle, who promises a younger, more inclusive vibe for the Xtra puzzles in this companion article.
The second crossword book from The Browser, “Cryptic Crosswords for Beginners” by Uri Bram & Dan Feyer is available now. They say “we break down these delightful puzzles into simple building blocks and have you solving cryptic grids before you know it!”
Fireball Crosswords begin this week and Fireball Newsflash Crosswords begin January 20, both by Peter Gordon. Subscriptions open now.
Now is also the time to renew your subscription to The Inkubator. A subscription is $30 for 36 puzzles: three puzzles a month all year long. The fifth year will feature creative themes from C.C. Burnikel, Chandi Deitmer, and Rebecca Goldstein; debuts from Max Schlenker and Darby Ratliff; themelesses from Robyn Weintraub and Wyna Liu; and many more.
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.
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.
Congratulations to our very own Matthew Gritzmacher, winner of Lollapuzzoola 15!!! 🎉(Now that we’ve moved to WordPress, if you haven’t already congratulated him on twitter, you can leave a comment on this post! ⬇️⬇️⬇️)
Congrats to all the competitors, finalists, and to the other winners: Ada Nicolle of the in-person Local Division, Tyler Hinman of the online competition, Peter and Claire Rimkus of in-person pairs. See in-person and online standings.
We at Crossworld News & Notes and Daily Crossword Links are proud to announce our new home at https://dailycrosswordlinks.com. Moving to our own space allows us the flexibility to offer new features that we are very excited to share with you. For now, you will still receive the daily email via Substack, but watch for more details as we continue to add to the new site — we will keep you updated as we plan any changes to email.
To subscribe to the new Daily Crossword Links directly through WordPress, sign up here:
Registration is open now for The Tenth Annual Finger Lakes Crossword Competition on September 24. After a Zoom-based kick off event moderated by Anna Shechtman, the puzzles are presented in a laid-back, self-timed, all-pdf format. The event is open to individuals and teams of up to four people with three levels of difficulty. The fee is pay-what-you-want and proceeds support adult literacy programs in the Finger Lakes area.
Registration for Boswords Fall Themeless League opens September 3.
Since the last News & Notes, Sue Fracker (8/16), Doug Burnikel (8/22), Trey Mendez (8/23), and Robert Logan (8/26) made their NYT debuts, and Scott Earl (8/15) and Rena Cohen (8/22) made their USAT debuts! Congrats to everyone!
“Creating Crossword Puzzles” is a course taught by Brooke Husic and Natan Last in cooperation with Atlas Obscura. The second offering of the course begins October 11 with four weekly sessions over Zoom. The content is intended for very new constructors and those who are interested in how crosswords are made. The first cohort’s puzzle was published August 29 by Atlas Obscura.
The September issue of “GAMES World of Puzzles” magazine is loaded with content for crossword lovers. A three-page article by Hayley Gold titled “Cryp-tic Tick Tick Boom” explores the recent surge in popularity of cryptic crosswords both online and in print. The issue also includes crossword, cryptic, and variety puzzles by Will Nediger, Mike Nothnagel, Frank Longo, and Fred Piscop, among others. The single issue is available for $3.99.
A24 has released “99 Movie Crosswords”, a collection edited by film writer and longtime puzzle constructor Anna Shechtman. Contributing constructors are Max Carpenter, Kameron Austin Collins, Natan Last, Wyna Liu, Paolo Pasco, Amanda Rafkin, Caitlin Reid, Finn Vigeland, and Stella Zawistowski. The puzzles range from Easy to Hard in difficulty and from Neophyte to Expert in film knowledge.
“Do the Work!: An Antiracist Activity Book” by W. Kamau Bell & Kate Schatz is an interactive workbook filled with activities, puzzles, comics, and games. Each of the five chapters concludes with a crossword puzzle, all written by Adesina Koiki. All of the illustrations and games were created by contributors who are BIPOC and/or AAPI. The book gives readers/solvers a unique, hands-on understanding of systemic racism – and how we can dismantle it.
Drowning in a pool filled with a NYT best-seller! Thx to @WorkmanPub for sending contributor copies of “Do The Work!,” using games to explain systemic racism. Hope you enjoy my crossword puzzles in it!
Anigrams is a new, original daily word game where you’re given four letters, and asked to unscramble a four-letter word. Seems simple, right? But then you’re given a fifth letter, and asked to unscramble a five letter word. And then a sixth letter. And then a seventh. And then an eighth. And then a ninth… How high can you go? Can you make it all the way to the🐐? Anigrams was created by Adam Wagner, and developed by Rafael Musa with help from Jacob Goldberg.
Anna Shechtman was featured in the July edition of The Cornellian in “Get a Clue: Anna Shechtman Is a Star in the World of Crosswords“. She teases her book (expected 2024) “The Riddles of the Sphinx,” a history of crossword puzzles with a focus on gender issues.
In a recent edition of The Morning from The New York Times, Sam Ezersky answers questions from Spelling Bee solvers, going deep on his strategies in developing the daily puzzle, and offering solving tips.
Pete Muller and Andrew White were featured in Princeton Alumni Weekly earlier this month. They discuss how they got started working together in puzzles and their process for creating the daily mini meta series for The Washington Post.
Congratulations to Anna Gundlach, who has joined the editorial team at Andrews McMeel Universal.
Outside the Box Year 8 by Joon Pahk begins in September and subscriptions are open now. You can also subscribe to only weekly Rows Gardens or biweekly variety puzzles if you prefer. If you haven’t branched into variety puzzles, this is a great place to start: 72 Rows Gardens and Variety puzzles for $30 is a great deal and Joon is one of the best variety puzzlemakers in the game.
Sean Weitner and JonMichael Rasmus of The Rackenfracker are launching a variety cryptic subscription service beginning in September. Word▶️ is a suite of puzzles “about all of the different things we press ▶️ on — movies, music, television, gaming, the internet,” the creators said. Word▶️will release a new puzzle to subscribers every month for a year. The first puzzle, On First, has been released as a free preview ahead of launch.
10x10x10 Crosswords III is a pack of ten 10×10 puzzles (five crosswords and five variety puzzles) by Grant Fikes. The pack is yours for a minimum $2 donation to selected charities.
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