THE PUZZLE BROTHERS

It's MEGA-Tastic!

Just got my copy of the new Simon & Schuster MEGA Crossword Puzzle Book, Volume 1. This just came out in bookstores today. Wow! This is enough to keep me busy for weeks on end. For the list price of $13.95, you get 300 original crosswords, including a healthy selection of 75 15x's, 75 mixed 17x's and 19x's, and 150 21x's. Many of your favorite authors in the old Crossword Puzzle Book series are represented here, and there are some new names too (including - and correct me if I'm wrong - the construction debut of Amy Reynaldo).

John Samson still continues as editor, now with three times the workload, as there will now be 900 puzzles used per year - approximately three times the amount required by a New York Times or Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

While I'm plugging things, I must put in a word for the 2008 New York Times Sunday Puzzle Appointment Book, from Pomegranate Press. It's a neat compilation of all the Sundays from October 2003 to October 2004, including a neat Leap Day puzzle by Patrick Merrell. One puzzle is misattributed to Kyle Mahowald instead of Joe DiPietro, but that's just a minor quibble. Neat package, nice paper that takes my favorite gel pen quite well. Got it for a gift in '07, bought it for myself in '08.

Labels: Amy Reynaldo, Joe DiPietro, John Samson, Kyle Mahowald, New York Times, Patrick Merrell, Simon-Schuster, Will Shortz

Mr. Mackey Meets Mr. Simon And Mr. Schuster

I am pleased to announce that I have sold my first puzzle to Simon & Schuster. A 19x entitled "Stretching Reality" will be appearing in S&S's Mega Crossword Book #3, to be released in October 2008.

Labels: Simon-Schuster

S&S Shutters Original Series, Yet Triples Output

It's the end of an era - but the start of an exciting new one - for the long-running Simon & Schuster "Crossword Puzzle Book" series, which began in 1924 with the original "Cross Word Puzzle Book", edited by Margaret Petherbridge.

It's been announced that this month's 258th volume is the final volume of the original Simon & Schuster series. But, in a happy turnaround to this seemingly sad announcement, Simon & Schuster announced the new Mega Crosswords series.

Edited by John Samson, these books will have 300 crosswords (100 of which will be 21x's) - the previous yearly output of the six CPB volumes - and be published three times a year, in January, June and October. The suggested price will be $13.95 which is a better value.

ADDENDUM: John Samson will again be accepting submissions for the newly expanded S&S offerings. Besides the usual assortment of 17's, 19's and 21's, he will now be accepting 15's. His updated spec sheet should soon be appearing on cruciverb.com.

Labels: John Samson, Simon-Schuster

"Nobody Puts Nucky In A Corner!"

While we're counting now the DAYS until Stamford, I wanted to put in a plug for Simon & Schuster #254. As you well know, 7x7 corners are a very hard thing to pull off. Frank Longo's done it in a 19x called "Four Corners" which includes four 7x7 corners, and of course it's at a price - this creates four alleys of 3-letter words. But it's a nice construction nevertheless and there's not a lot to quibble with in the corners. Pick up a copy and give it a try.

Labels: Frank Longo, Simon-Schuster

Contributors

Friday, January 04, 2008

It's MEGA-Tastic!

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Mr. Mackey Meets Mr. Simon And Mr. Schuster

Monday, October 08, 2007

S&S Shutters Original Series, Yet Triples Output

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

"Nobody Puts Nucky In A Corner!"