Puzzle Notes

Dear friends,

Barbara Lin makes her AVCX Classic debut this week with "Elongated," a 2/5 difficulty offering.

Our subscription drive is going well! The new tiers are allowing some longtime super fans to support us at a higher rate, while others have taken advantage of the scholarship tier. Both of those are fantastic things, and there are about 600 more people receiving this email compared to about a month ago. We're also doing some plug swaps with kindred outlets, which is helping to spread the word. This week's swap is with The Believer, a quarterly magazine for which the AVCX's own Ada Nicolle and Wyna Liu have been taking turns writing a hard themeless crossword (edited by Ben) for the past couple of years. The Believer has been a joy to work with, and the magazine has been publishing some wonderful critical, poetic, and essayistic writing. Ada, Wyna, and I have been proud to work with them. Here's a few words from them, including a discount code for subscribing:

"Don't let your left brain have all the fun! Supplement your crossword intake and nourish your creative side with The Believer, a quarterly literature and arts magazine published by McSweeney's. In every issue, readers will find essays, intimate interviews, cultural coverage, reportage, and poetry; all part of a well-balanced mental diet.

Our upcoming art-themed edition features interviews with Annie Leibovitz, Martine Syms, and An-My Lê, with essays by critic Hilton Als, Ross Simonini, and plenty more. Each copy comes with an eclectic, detachable gift guide curated by artists such as Marcel Dzama, Rebecca Morgan, Micah Lexier, and Clare Rojas. In addition, subscribers will receive a limited-edition 2025 calendar with original artwork by the acclaimed Nina Chanel Abney. Be sure to subscribe while supplies last, and use the code 'AVCX20' for a 20% discount."
Yrs,
Ben and the expanded AVCX crew
Solve this puzzle online! (AVCX login credentials required)

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