The riddles of the sphinx

The indisputable ‘queen of crosswords’, Anna Shechtman published her first New York Times puzzle at age nineteen, and later, helped to spearhead the The New Yorker’s popular crossword section. Working with a medium often criticized as exclusionary, elitist, and out-of-touch, Anna is one of very few women in the field of puzzle making, where she strives to make the everyday diversion more diverse. In this fascinating work-part memoir, part cultural analysis – she excavates the hidden history of the crossword and the overlooked women who have been central to its creation and evolution, from the ‘Crossword Craze’ of the 1920s to the role of digital technology today.