In his time as editor, he’s been credited with spearheading a sharp decrease in crosswordese in Times puzzles, as well as offering a greater level of visibility and acknowledgment for individual constructors. Without a doubt the most famous name in crosswords today, Will Shortz is the crossword editor for the New York Times, a position he’s held since 1993 (after putting in time with both GAMES Magazine and our friends at Penny/Dell Puzzles). We’re reaching out to puzzle constructors, video game writers and designers, writers, filmmakers, and puzzle enthusiasts from all walks of life, talking to people who make puzzles and people who enjoy them in the hopes of exploring the puzzle community as a whole.Īnd I’m overjoyed to have Will Shortz as our latest 5 Questions interviewee! He was also the subject of the 2006 award-winning documentary film Wordplay.Īn avid table tennis player, Will is the owner and director of the Westchester Table Tennis Center in Pleasantville, New York, the largest table tennis facility in the United States.Welcome to another edition of PuzzleNation Blog’s interview feature, 5 Questions! Will wrote the riddles for the film Batman Forever and has guest-starred in episodes of The Simpsons and How I Met Your Mother, in each case playing himself. The clue to the middle answer across the grid was “Lead story in tomorrow's newspaper.” The answer appeared to be “CLINTON ELECTED.” Because of intentional ambiguity in the crossing clues, however, the answer could also have been “BOB DOLE ELECTED”-either fit. The puzzle that Will edited which elicited the most response appeared on Election Day, 1996. And finally, the cultural references were broadened to include movies, television, and rock music. He had the puzzles become increasingly harder each day of the week to provide something for every skill level. Constructor bylines were added to the daily puzzles previously the contributors had labored anonymously. Upon starting at the Times, Will made modest modifications to the crosswords. This allows him to presume a level of culture and solving skill that he could not anyplace else. Today, Will relishes his position at the Times because he believes the publication garners the most intelligent, educated group of solvers in the country.
However ten years proved to be a daunting length of time for a young Will Shortz, and following graduation he skipped the bar exam to began his career in puzzles immediately. By then he estimated he would make enough money to retire and do what he really wanted-create puzzles. Having received a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1977, Will originally entered law school with the intention of practicing law for ten years. To date Will is the author or editor of more than 500 puzzle books! At age 16, he became a regular contributor to Dell puzzle publications. Will sold his first puzzle professionally when he was just 14 years old to Venture, a denominational youth magazine. He also founded the World Puzzle Championship in 1992, and he co-founded the World Puzzle Federation in 1999.
Will has been the puzzle master for NPR's “Weekend Edition Sunday” since the program's start in 1987, crossword editor of The New York Times since 1993, editor of Games magazine for 15 years, and the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which has been held annually since 1978. He designed his own major program at Indiana University, which in 1974 led to his one-of-a-kind degree in Enigmatology, the study of puzzles. It's Will Shortz, the world’s only academically accredited puzzle master.
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