Puzzle Notes

Dear solvers,

We editors love producing mini puzzles, both because it allows us to work with constructors who are newer to cryptics and because many of our solvers, who are themselves newer to cryptics, find them more accessible than their larger cousins. Also, TL;DR: The next puzzle will come out on October 31, not October 24!

Meet our constructors:

Sam Brody: Sam is a software engineer and AI/NLP researcher living in Brooklyn. His (non-cryptic) puzzles have appeared in various venues, including USA Today, Universal, and AVCX. He's super excited for his cryptic debut!

Adam Cohen: Adam Cohen's puzzles have appeared in the New York Times, Newsday, Crosswords With Friends, Games, and World of Puzzles. He has been a puzzle editor, fact-checker, and test-solver of puzzle books, magazines, websites, and subscriptions for over 20 years. This is his AVCX debut and his first solo foray into cryptic crosswords.

Josie Giles (Mallimack): Mallimack is the nom de puzzle of Harry Josephine Giles, a writer and performer from Orkney, Scotland. Her verse novel Deep Wheel Orcadia was published by Picador in October 2021 and won the 2022 Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction book of the year. She publishes a free tough monthly cryptic, and is currently working on a post-apocalyptic adventure story set in the Mesolithic. Apart from writing books and doing puzzles, she spends her time hillwalking and birdwatching. www.harryjosephine.com

Matthew Luter: Matthew Luter is a writer and teacher in Jackson, MS. He's on the 2024 Lil AVC X editing team and has contributed several AVCX Trivia puzzles. This mini cryptic is his first published cryptic of any size. A new crossword appears on his website each Tuesday.

One last note: The next cryptic will come out a week later than normal, on October 31. There's a seasonally appropriate reason why. Get excited!

One further note whose existence contradicts the word "last" in the previous paragraph: Also get excited about helping AVCX with its subscription drive (if that's a thing you have the energy and interest to get excited about)! Our goal is to add 1,000+ new subscribers by the end of 2024 so we can become an independently funded operation while still keeping up the frequency of the puzzles that all the AVCX branches have been providing. Please spread the word, and if you know of any promotional or cross-promotional opportunities, drop us a line at support@avxwords.com to let us know!

Be well,
The AVCX Cryptic team