Welcome to the 10th Annual Orca Awards, honoring outstanding achievement in crossword construction and editing from puzzles published in 2020! Winners in ten different categories will be announced after the jump.
Anagram fans are quick to point out that Orcas anagrams to Oscar, and longtime readers will remember that the Orca Awards are usually released on the same day as the Academy Awards broadcast. But looking ahead to this weekend, there’s already the virtual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament taking place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Rather than cram even more crossword content into your weekend, we’re making like Greenpeace and releasing the Orcas early. So join us for a look back at the highlights from a year we may not otherwise want to revisit anytime soon. Continue reading
Today’s BEQ is a Marching Bands puzzle kicking off Year Seven of his MB subscription. If you like Marching Bands, you can subscribe by sending $15.00 to Brendan via PayPal or Venmo (@TheBEQ).
Sid Sivakumar has a new crossword gig. There’s an online publication called the Juggernaut, “smart media for the South Asian diaspora.” Follow this link, key in your email address (you’ll be added to their mailing list, but can unsubscribe if it’s not your vibe), and try Sid’s South Asia–friendly crossword. Sid will be taking puzzle submissions from other constructors, and he’ll be the Juggernaut’s crossword editor. I solved this April 2021 puzzle in a Fri/Sat NYT amount of time despite not knowing a great many of the Indian etc. fill. That’s the mark of a well-made puzzle, if someone who just plain doesn’t know a bunch of things can still manage to finish it! Enjoy.