The Orca Awards are back! The annual celebration of creativity in crosswords returns to the pages of Diary of a Crossword Fiend to throw a spotlight on interesting puzzles from a broad variety of venues. The Orca Awards were created by prolific solver Sam Donaldson to honor outstanding achievements in crossword construction and editing. For ten years, he determined the winners and honorable mentions in ten different categories.
Today, we continue the tradition.
In this post, we mention every great puzzle printed in any publication or indie blog in the Crossworld in 2022.
No, not really.
In reviving the Orca Awards, we likely missed out on many excellent puzzles in each category. Please call out your snubbed favorites in the Comments section—letting people know that you appreciate their work is the raison d’être of the Orca Awards.
Tradition dictates the Orca Awards are announced today. It’s no coincidence that ORCAS anagrams to ___. (In a parallel universe, less under the sway of the Everything Bagel, we filled in that blank for you.)
To the awards!