Jess Shulman
@jessshulman.bsky.social
Freelance editor, crossword constructor, also busy with kids, music, books, paddleboarding, youth baseball, TV, cats/dogs... she/her
We had a great meet-up of Toronto #crossword and #puzzle people this week with organizer @jessshulman.bsky.social, @sarathegood.bsky.social, @adanicklmao.bsky.social, @francidit.bsky.social, Fraser Simpson, Elliot Caroll, Fabian Corbin, Michael Busheikin, and Emma Lawson (here from Vancouver)
Parseword #115 ⚡️ 59s 💎 Perfect 😃 Secret Found 🗿 Challenge Mode Just scraped a minute! Nice one @jessshulman.bsky.social @avcx.bsky.social
Honoured to have the first AVCX cryptic clue featured in Parseword be one of mine! Kinda wild.
AVCX Classic@avcx.bsky.social · 3mo agoExciting news! On a trial basis for now, AVCX will be providing cryptic clues to Parseword, a new daily game from Josh Wardle (of Wordle fame). Starting this Saturday with work from @jessshulman.bsky.social Give it a try… www.parseword.com
Exciting news! On a trial basis for now, AVCX will be providing cryptic clues to Parseword, a new daily game from Josh Wardle (of Wordle fame). Starting this Saturday with work from @jessshulman.bsky.social Give it a try… www.parseword.com
Parseword - A tricky wordplay game
Transform phrases through wordplay to solve cryptic crossword puzzles.
parseword.com
My first 21 x 21 ever is making its appearance online *and* in print at @theglobeandmail.com today 🇨🇦 Check out their new games app too that @jessshulman.bsky.social has made fab www.theglobeandmail.com/puzzles-and-...
Daily Crossword
Solve today’s daily puzzle. Try Saturday’s exclusive Canadian crossword.
theglobeandmail.com
✨Constructor Spotlight✨ @jessshulman.bsky.social (she/her) is a crossword constructor & editor in Toronto, ON. In the 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 abortion-rights campaigns … (1/2)
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.
![Crossword puzzle with 6-Down highlighted: [High tech device for a snowboarder?]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4yky6m7w7bd4kinepwyqjg5v/bafkreihmkadhwdimqzikrz6sqjxdf7fp3g2otgztosj5piuqnwrcublccm)
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.
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...
Boxes (Saturday Cryptic Puzzle, August 23)
Boxes (Saturday Cryptic Puzzle, August 23)
wsj.com
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
I keep forgetting to post here. New Walrus puzzle up this week—enjoy! Walrus.ca/games/crossword #thewalrus #crossword
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...
Submit a Puzzle – AVCXTwitterFacebookTwitterFacebook
avxwords.com
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.
![Crossword puzzle with 5-Down highlighted: [Key to a capital?] (five letters)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4yky6m7w7bd4kinepwyqjg5v/bafkreid2qdpujcky5sf5zu46vb6iuf4yh46j7opawm4ap3div3jtxyfozy)
✨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!
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
✨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… (1/2)
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!)
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-...
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)
These Puzzles Fund Abortion@tpfa.bsky.social · last yr.We are happy to announce that our crossword pack is now available! Thank you to those who donated during our presale; you will receive the puzzles today. We are currently at 15% of our fundraising goal! Check us out at fund.nnaf.org/tpfa if you haven’t donated yet!
I had the pleasure of editing this lovely puzz from Katja — please enjoy!
Lil AVCX@lilavcx.bsky.social · last yr.Today we invite you to explore the depths of this 7x11 puzzle by Lil roster alum Katja Brinck (@katjabrinck.bsky.social), titled "Let's Go Spelunking!" There's nothing dark or scary about it … just wonders to behold.
![Crossword puzzle with 1-Across highlighted: [What hopefully falls when a conductor raises their baton] (4 letters)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4yky6m7w7bd4kinepwyqjg5v/bafkreidien7pmlj4w7icdmmnfm43tlagstwjfpsjsvy7tkuhaheqd3urae)
Yay yay yay! New roster for 2025! Super excited to meet and work with this impressive (and so smiley!) gang 😊 Congrats to you all ❤️
Lil AVCX@lilavcx.bsky.social · last yr.Lil AVCX is thrilled to announce our 2025 Roster! We are excited to bring you puzzles by these constructors 🥳 Alex Rossell Hayes @alxrh.bsky.social Alisya Reza @alisyareza.bsky.social Ben Wilson @zerofiftyone.bsky.social Carina da Rosa @carinadarosa.bsky.social K. J. Sarr Katie Hoody Terry Sun
So thrilled to be a part of Cryptic Crossweird. And touched by the note in their Patreon email this morning: “We loved how collaborative the process was with Jess, and it’s clear to us from working with her what a wordsmith she is.” ❤️❤️❤️ Hope you like it!
momes@momes.bsky.social · 2y agonew puzzle day! "covered with kitty feet" by @jessshulman.bsky.social is a real treat! you can find it at patreon.com/crypticcrossweird
