CROSSWORDS: Financial

Summary | Contest | Tournaments | Scholarship | Fundraise | Edit | Publish |
References

Summary

• It is possible to earn $ by solving or publishing crosswords -- hopefully that's not your primary reason.
• Even if you do win (or have puzzles accepted), huge amounts are not involved
  -- so don't quit your day job.
• There may be entry & travel costs, or costs for subscriptions or tools.

Enter a Crossword Contest

• Buying a scratch-off "crossword" lottery ticket doesn't count.
• NYT Puzzlemania Super Mega: (NYT store, if avail)
  [right: 1st prize: $1000; otherwise, puzzle book; 2020]
• Dear McSweeney anniversary contest
  first ten people to successfully complete the puzzle will receive a complimentary copy of Dear McSweeney's
• Patrick Berry's "Cross" word contest
  six-day challenge from Oct 17 to 22, 2011;
  prize: collection of daily crosswords Will Shortz himself chose as his favorites from Sept 2002 through 2010
• Bernard Marks: Master of the Ham&High crossword 11/1/2021
• Wealth Words

Win a Crossword Solving Tournament

• "Wouldn't it be wonderful if I won... a helicopter in a crossword puzzle competition?
  There is not much hope though I am afraid, as they never give such practical prizes."
  ~Leonora Carrington
• Sometimes cash, but usually books/subscriptions or bragging rights (Fame)
• American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) [next: 3/31-4/2/2023; Stamford, CT]:
  [2023] Division A: 1st: $7,000; 2nd: $4,000; 3rd: $1,500; lesser prizes for lower divisions;
  Crossword Tournament From Your Couch live-streamed competition replaced ACPT
  after COVID-19 cancellation in 3/2020; puzzles;
  section: WordPlay documentary about ACPT 2005

• 
  

  Best Crosswords [online]

• Boswords: Boston Crossword Tournament 2/5/2023
• Bryant Park Tournament Bryant Park, NYC; samples: .pdf
• Finger Lakes Crossword Competition [Ithaca, NY];
  Annual Finger Lakes Crossword Competition 9/4/2020
• Indie 500 Crossword Tournament [Wash DC]; trophy; small prizes
• KCUR 89.3's Crossword Puzzle Tournament (on 6/24/2021) 6/8/2021;
  Presented By Andrews McMeel Universal [Kansas City, MO]
• Lollapuzzoola [NYC] Wikipedia;
  cash/ gift certificate; XWordInfo.com 1-year Angel access;
  1-year subscription to Matt Gaffney's site
• St. Louis (STL) City Crossword Puzzle Tournament; 3/4/2023
• Times Crossword Championship [London]; cryptics; awards? official site?
• Virtual Crossword Tournaments xwordblog.com
• Westchester Crossword Tournament [NY]; trophies and puzzle books
• West Coast [LA; SF area]; any active? Crosswords LA;
  Napa Valley Puzzle Challenge; Silicon Valley Puzzle Fest
• World Puzzle Championship

Find a College Scholarship

• Crossword Hobbyist: $1,000 to current / incoming undergraduates
  who create a winning newspaper-style crossword

Fundraise for Charity

• Free ‘Celebrity’ Crossword Zoom Events w/ John Halpern e.g., w/ Will Shortz on 2/5/2021
• Grids for Good raise money for organizations providing coronavirus relief,
  as well as for groups fighting against institutional racism

Edit Crosswords

• Puzzle Editor, Digital job posting; NYT; 5/10/2024

Publish a Crossword

• "Almost nobody makes a career solely constructing puzzles...
  and I think it's safe to say that nobody gets wealthy that way.
  ...Most people who want a career in puzzles also have to do proofreading, editing, and so on.
  A lucky few get jobs editing the puzzles for large newspapers or for publishing houses." ~Trip Payne
• "Is it possible to live from creating puzzles?...
  Yes, but doing so is very difficult, because constructing crosswords pays notoriously little!
  Editing jobs are hard to come by, and freelance constructing is hit-and-miss and
  ultimately not quite lucrative enough." ~David Steinberg
• Inside the Elite, Underpaid, and Weird World of Crossword Writers
  Efforts to diversify the industry might be having the opposite effect.
  And although puzzles are an important part of The New York Times' business strategy,
  only a handful of people actually make a living from crosswords; NewRep; 8/5/2022
• NYT: weekday (15 x 15): $500 (1-2), $750 (3+); Sun (21 x 21): $1500 (1-2), $2250 (3+);
  "encourage even newer contributors to contribute more often, by the setting of
  an easier bar to meet for the higher rate" ~Will Shortz; 1/2020;
• Crossword Publication Specs
  NYT; Univ; WSJ; LAT; Newsday; AVC; Fireball; ...; table from Matthew Stock; lower rates from non-NYT
• Some publishers profit from crosswords, even as print subscribers decline, e.g.,
  The New York Times Tops 5 Million Subscriptions as Ads Decline
  ~1M Crossword (and Cooking) digital subscribers; NYT; 2/6/2020
• Some independent constructors offer bundles and subscriptions.

Other?

• Include crosswords in a new murder mystery novel or TV show
• [on right: Oklahoma prisoner Harvey Stigler sells crosswords, gains parole]
• Impress a wealthy fiancé/fiancée with a crossword marriage proposal
• "White&Blackmail": extort payment to not publish an embarassing crossword?
• ???

References

• Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
  Division A: 1st: $5,000; 2nd: $2,000; 3rd: $1,000;
  Division B & Rookies: $500 / $250 / $150;
  Division C: $100 / $75 / $50;
  registration: $235 -- + hotel
• Survey: Nearly 3 in 5 Say Managing Money More Demanding Than Solving A Crossword 4/12/2022
• Arkadium Announces 12 Days of Crossword, a Fun, First-of-its-kind
  Crossword Sweepstakes Celebrating the Holiday Season
  chance to win $3,000; 11/30/2020
• My Journey to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
  a well-loved clipboard loaded with crossword puzzles
  became the rock one woman leaned on when her husband became critically ill;
  'When days were long, doctors' visits were discouraging and the future was uncertain,
  crossword puzzles gave me a sense of accomplishment, comfort and stability.' NYT; 11/25/2020
• Digital Revenue Exceeds Print for 1st Time forNYT Company
  669,000 new digital subscribers, which includes 176,000 for cooking & crosswords;
  NYT; 8/5/2020
• Finding College Scholarships
  Crossword Hobbyist blog offering $1,000 scholarship to current and incoming
  undergraduates who create a winning newspaper-style crossword on a favorite topic; USA; 5/8/2019
• New York Times Crossword Contributors to See Pay Raise
  [1993] $40(weekday), $150(Sun);
  [2018] $300-450/$1000-1200;
  [2019] $500-750/$1500-2250;
  higher rates for more frequent/reliable contributors; NYT; 12/18/2018
• Your Job May Affect How Your Brain Ages 'crossword puzzle maker' among 43 occupations
  scored as 'High Cognitive Engagement'; 538; 11/19/2014
• shmoop.com: Crossword Puzzle Writer Career, Salary
• Wealth Words online contest site