New York Times Crossword Editor Will Shortz

Will Shortz has been editing the New York Times crossword puzzle since 1993. I've been writing crosswords since 2007, and I've been lucky enough to have 39 of my creations published in the Times to date, all of them edited by Will. He is the master of the art, America's King of Cruciverbalism, and with Will at the helm, the subscriber base of the New York Times Crossword Puzzle app has grown to a remarkable 500,000 solvers. That's a lot of folks reading clues and filling in grids, and it translates into an abundant source of revenue for The New York Times.

I traveled to Pleasantville, New York to interview Will at the Westchester Table Tennis Center, which he owns. Here we discuss what it takes for a crossword to make it from a constructor's idea all the way to the Arts section of The New York Times. Listen closely and you'll hear the patter of ping-pong and squeaks of sneakers as Will talks about the craft and business of what he does, and why he believes we're currently living in the Golden Age of Crosswords.