Jess Shulman

Submissions to AVCX Classic are now closed for the December-January cycle — alas, we have to shut it down when we get to a certain number, since we only publish once a week.

We reopen in May, and look forward to seeing your pitches then!

AVCX, the world’s finest puzzles and games service, and an independent media venture, has done some really cool stuff this year! A thread to brag (and to hype our mini subscription drive) …

@lilavcx.bsky.social , who make our midi puzzles, does a ton of mentoring work. They added seven new constructors this year, and mentored them all. Each constructor made 4-6 puzzles.

Lil ran 78 puzzles total, and they were tremendous and often genre-bending.

Sorry, almost missed this! AVCX is an incredible indie subscription venue that I can't recommend enough, with a variety of different sizes and types of crossword puzzles (and trivia) sent right to your inbox. You can also buy each one for $1. Here's this one: avxwords.com/puzzles/1920/

Enjoy!

Just solved it — what a great puzzle! Congrats! Especially laughed out loud at the clue for 12-Across.

As we move toward our fall subscription drive, we hope you’ll consider supporting us in part bc we are an independent media company.

No, crosswords are not as vital as journalism. But yes, all content that we consume matters, and it should be as free as possible from corporate control.

I, too, am delighted!

Boxes (Saturday Cryptic Puzzle, August 23) Boxes (Saturday Cryptic Puzzle, August 23)

Delighted to be back in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend with a variety cryptic @jessshulman.bsky.social and I made!

www.wsj.com/articles/box...

Classic is at capacity for the current submission cycle! Thanks for all the beautiful puzzles you’ve sent these past couple months. We look forward to seeing more in December when we reopen.

-Ben and the editorial team

Someone just posted about your win on FB, came here to say congrats!!! That’s huge! So amazing.

Screenshot of a blank crossword grid, with the title and author of the puzzle printed underneath: “Have It Your Way,” by Jess Shulman

I keep forgetting to post here. New Walrus puzzle up this week—enjoy!
Walrus.ca/games/crossword
#thewalrus #crossword

Picture of crossword puzzle titled “Inside Information.” One clue is highlighted and says “IUD hormone that might lead to a period-free life” (9 letters)

Our third sample puzzle is now available to solve!

You can solve “Inside Information” by Jasmeet Arora and @xws.bsky.social for free at abortionpuzzles.com!

If you enjoy this puzzle, wait until you see what’s in store with the full TPFA pack! Available with a donation at fund.nnaf.org/tpfa!

AVCX Classic submissions are open again! Our May-June season is live, and we look forward to seeing your stuff.

We welcome work from all, but are especially excited to see crosswords from queer, non-white, and non-male constructors.

Details:
avxwords.com/submit-a-puz...

Crossword puzzle with 5-Down highlighted: [Key to a capital?] (five letters)

We're back this week with a smooth-as-butter 11x11 puzzle for you to bite into! "Mega Bites" comes from AVCX editor Jess Shulman (@jessshulman.bsky.social), who is bringing some hangry vibes to today's party.

Image of cryptic-style crossword grid. The first word, POWER, has already been filled in. Some of the squares in the puzzle are circled.

✨Constructor Spotlight✨

Sara Goodchild (she/her, @sarathegood.bsky.social) is an editor & puzzlemaker based in Toronto. She’s honoured to be contributing to TPFA for a 2nd time: abortion is health care!

Sara co-created a brilliant puzzle with Steve Mossberg.
Available at fund.nnaf.org/tpfa!

😊

Screenshot of TPFA fundraising page, showing 30,423 dollars raised toward the 50,000 dollar goal

We reached $30K this week! 🤑

That’s 6,000 💵 EACH to

@baltimorefund.bsky.social
Tampa Bay Abortion Fund
Chicago Abortion Fund
@iwrising.bsky.social
Mariposa Fund

We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed to and shared our campaign!

Thank you, thank you!! 💜

fund.nnaf.org/tpfa

photo of Jess smiling

✨Constructor Spotlight✨

Jess Shulman (@jessshulman.bsky.social, she/her) is a crossword constructor and editor in Toronto, Ontario. In the early 1970s, her mom helped found the Toronto Women’s Caucus, one of Canada’s first activist feminist groups, which led some of the country’s earliest…

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Aww I love that

Image of crossword puzzle titled “Lessons in Chemistry” Cryptic by Jess Shulman, with the first clue highlighted (One agent had changed where the topic on this puzzle’s edges should always be (2,3,6))

Our second sample puzzle is now available to solve for free on our website!

Check out the cryptic puzzle “Lessons in Chemistry?” by @jessshulman.bsky.social at www.abortionpuzzles.com!

(& if you like this puzzle, you’ll love the 20+ other puzzles you’ll get when you donate at fund.nnaf.org/tpfa!)

Screenshot of the title card for the LA Times crossword puzzle of Monday, March 10, 2025, by Jess Shulman & Amie Walker

So happy to see this puzzle come out, a fun collab with my good friend @amiewalker.bsky.social
Enjoy! Thanks as always to Patti for her insightful editing.
www.latimes.com/games/daily-...

Screenshot of the LA Times crossword splash page for Friday March 7 2025

My son has his crossword puzzle debut in the LA Times today.

He is the youngest person to publish a puzzle there, at 12 years old!! Sorry for the earnest post, but I love him a whole lot!!

I’m very proud to be a part of These Puzzles Fund Abortion 5 — what’s happening to our friends south of the border is damn scary, and this is a great way that we can help. This year’s pack contains 23 original, brand-new puzzles centered on social and reproductive justice themes (mine’s a cryptic)

Exactly this

I had the pleasure of editing this lovely puzz from Katja — please enjoy!

Yay yay yay! New roster for 2025! Super excited to meet and work with this impressive (and so smiley!) gang 😊
Congrats to you all ❤️

I constructed this week’s Walrus crossword. Happy solving!

Ah, baby time! How fun. Hope you’re sleeping.
😁 Thanks for the solve - I’ll check in on the replay.

Also, sorry to hear you’ve been sick 🤒 😢