Will Shortz (born August 26, 1952) is an American puzzle creator and editor.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Publicity 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Early life

Will Shortz was born and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Graduating from Indiana University in 1974^[1], he is the only person known to hold a college degree in enigmatology,^[2] the study of puzzles, after designing his own degree program. While at IU Shortz pledged and was initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, though he forwent the bar exam and began a career in puzzles instead.

[edit] Career

Shortz began his career at Penny Press Magazines, then moved to Games Magazine for 15 years, and was editor from 1989–1993. He has been the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times since 1993 (the fourth in the paper's history, following Eugene T. Maleska) and the puzzle master on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987. He is also the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament since 1978. He founded the World Puzzle Championship in 1992 and is a director of the U.S. Puzzle Team.

Shortz is the author or editor of more than 100 books and owns over 20,000 puzzle books and magazines dating back to 1545, reportedly the world's largest private library on the subject.^[3] Shortz is a member of the National Puzzlers' League. He is currently the league historian.

Shortz provided the puzzle clues The Riddler (Jim Carrey) leaves for Batman (Val Kilmer) in the film Batman Forever.^[4]

On his 50th birthday, Shortz received a personal note from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is a fan of the The New York Times crossword puzzle.^[3]

He says that his favorite crossword of all time is the Election Day crossword of November 5, 1996, designed by Jeremiah Farrell. It had two correct solutions with the same set of clues, one saying that the "Lead story in tomorrow's newspaper (!)" would be "BOB DOLE ELECTED", and the other correct solution saying "CLINTON ELECTED".^[5][6]

His favorite crossword clue of all-time is "it might turn into a different story," with the solution being "SPIRALSTAIRCASE". ^[7]

Shortz currently resides in Pleasantville, New York, where he works from home.

In February 2009, Shortz helped introduce the KenKen puzzle into The New York Times. ^[8]

[edit] Publicity

The 2006 documentary Wordplay by Patrick Creadon focuses on Shortz and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Various famous fans of his puzzles such as Bill Clinton, Ken Burns, Jon Stewart, The Indigo Girls and Mike Mussina appear in the film.

Shortz has been a guest on a number of TV shows, including Martha Stewart Living, Oprah,^[9] The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. He has also appeared on Millionaire as an expert for the "Ask the Expert" lifeline.^[10]

He appeared on an episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", which first aired on November 16, 2008.

He has also appeared in "Dinner: Impossible" as himself, challenging the chef to create dishes that are common culinary phrases at the annual "American Crossword Puzzle Tournament". This aired on May 6, 2009 and the tournment ran from February 27 - March 1.

[edit] References

1. ^ "Puzzlemaster Will Shortz to present IU's 2008 commencement address". 2008-04-01. http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/7726.html. 
2. ^ "New York Times crossword editor to give "puzzling" lecture at IU". Indiana University. 2000-03-29. http://newsinfo.iu.edu/OCM/releases/shortz.htm. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Puzzle pundit has a word", Australian Courier-Mail, October 28, 2006. Retrieved on April 27, 2009.
4. ^ IMDB Entry for "Batman Forever"
5. ^ BarelyBad.com: " Theme Answers — Election Day 1996." Retrieved April 22, 2007.
6. ^ American Crossword Puzzle Tournament: "Business Unusual: Will Shortz." Retrieved April 22, 2007.
7. ^ New York Magazine
8. ^ Stephey, M. J. "Puzzle Guru Will Shortz." Time 2 Mar. 2009. 15 June 2009 <http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1882455,00.html>
9. ^ The Oprah Winfrey Show: "How'd They Do That?" Retrieved April 22, 2007.
10. ^ Will on Millionaire Wednesday (YouTube)

[edit] External links

• A Puzzling Occupation from the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
• About Will Shortz from NPR
• Bookologist Interviews Will Shortz About Crossword Puzzle Collecting
• American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
• New York Times crosswords some sample puzzles and crossword forums are free; access to the daily puzzle requires a paid subscription
• New York Times crossword editor to give "puzzling" lecture at IU
• Synopses of Will Shortz puzzle segments on Weekend Edition Sunday
• The Puzzle Master - Wired magazine interview
• Official site for Wordplay The Movie
• WORDPLAY site for Independent Lens on PBS
• Wordplay The Movie at the Internet Movie Database