iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Woot! Thanks so much, Jess R, this is lovely. ❤️

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Lowdown Cryptic @lowdowncryptic.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

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)

10 awesome, smiling people sitting on a rooftop patio

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Matt @wyrd.systems · 23/05/2026

Parseword #115 ⚡️ 59s 💎 Perfect 😃 Secret Found 🗿 Challenge Mode Just scraped a minute! Nice one @jessshulman.bsky.social @avcx.bsky.social

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Honoured to have the first AVCX cryptic clue featured in Parseword be one of mine! Kinda wild.

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

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.com

Parseword - A tricky wordplay game

Transform phrases through wordplay to solve cryptic crossword puzzles.

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Carina @carinadarosa.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

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-...

theglobeandmail.com

Daily Crossword

Solve today’s daily puzzle. Try Saturday’s exclusive Canadian crossword.

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These Puzzles Fund Abortion @tpfa.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

✨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)

Photo of Jess smiling and wearing a white shirt, with a drinking glass.

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

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!

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

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) …

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

@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.

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

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.

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juff @juffowup.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

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...

wsj.com

Boxes (Saturday Cryptic Puzzle, August 23)

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

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

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

I keep forgetting to post here. New Walrus puzzle up this week—enjoy! Walrus.ca/games/crossword #thewalrus #crossword

Screenshot of a blank crossword grid, with the title and author of the puzzle printed underneath: “Have It Your Way,” by Jess Shulman

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These Puzzles Fund Abortion @tpfa.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

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!

Picture of crossword puzzle titled “Inside Information.” One clue is highlighted and says “IUD hormone that might lead to a period-free life” (9 letters)

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

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...

avxwords.com

Submit a Puzzle – AVCXTwitterFacebookTwitterFacebook

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Lil AVCX @lilavcx.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

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)

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These Puzzles Fund Abortion @tpfa.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

✨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!

Image of cryptic-style crossword grid. The first word, POWER, has already been filled in. Some of the squares in the puzzle are circled.

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These Puzzles Fund Abortion @tpfa.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

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

Screenshot of TPFA fundraising page, showing 30,423 dollars raised toward the 50,000 dollar goal

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These Puzzles Fund Abortion @tpfa.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

✨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)

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These Puzzles Fund Abortion @tpfa.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

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!)

Image of crossword puzzle titled “Lessons in Chemistry” Cryptic by Jess Shulman, with the first clue highlighted (One agent had changed where the topic on this puzzle’s edges should always be (2,3,6))

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

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-...

Screenshot of the title card for the LA Times crossword puzzle of Monday, March 10, 2025, by Jess Shulman & Amie Walker

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Benjamin Tausig @burrata.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

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!!

Screenshot of the LA Times crossword splash page for Friday March 7 2025

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

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)

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

I had the pleasure of editing this lovely puzz from Katja — please enjoy!

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Yay yay yay! New roster for 2025! Super excited to meet and work with this impressive (and so smiley!) gang 😊 Congrats to you all ❤️

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

I constructed this week’s Walrus crossword. Happy solving!

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

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!

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Thanks to everyone who submitted a puzzle to AVCX Classic this cycle. We’ve reached our submission limit for this cycle, so we’re closing up a few days early. We invite and very much look forward to seeing your work in May, when we reopen.

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Thread with AVCX’s revised editorial policy regarding Donald Trump: — In early 2017, AVCX announced a new editorial policy, namely that we as a feature would regard Donald Trump as an asshole when we referred to him in print.

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gnomoncryptics.bsky.social @gnomoncryptics.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

I'm happy to announce The Gnomon: a new variety cryptic crosswords outlet launching June 2025, with free previews coming February and April. www.gnomoncryptics.com

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Deadline to apply for Lil AVCX's 2025 roster is Monday! If you're newish to crossword construction, and looking to make some great crossword pals while being mentored for a year in a very supportive environment, I can't recommend this enough docs.google.com/document/d/1... @lilavcx.bsky.social

docs.google.com

Lil AVCX: Call for applications for our 2025 constructor roster

Lil AVCX: Call for applications for our 2025 constructor roster We’re looking for new and emerging crossword puzzle constructors to regularly contribute “midi” puzzles. Yes, you’ll get paid, and you ...

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AVCX Classic @avcx.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

We have a couple thousand new followers today; thank you for supporting independent media, including games. Don’t forget to follow the accounts of our various features/editors @lilavcx.bsky.social @avcxtrivia.bsky.social @burrata.bsky.social @sidsivakumar.bsky.social @francisheaney.bsky.social

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These Puzzles Fund Abortion @tpfa.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Hello, BlueSky! Please follow our page so you can hear all about TPFA5 when it launches this spring. We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been working on!

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Big day! The call for new crossword constructors to join the Lil AVCX mentorship program is out! This is a FANTASTIC way to develop your construction chops, and you’ll meet a lot of really great people in the process. Get your applications in by Jan 27 🎉

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Steve Mossberg @mossdef.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

AVCX Cryptics is OPEN for submissions the month of January 2025. My fellow editors and I look forward to seeing what you folks come up with! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

AVCX Cryptic Submission Process

AVCX Cryptics is OPEN for submissions for the month of January 2025. Please read all the way to the end of this document before sending us a submission. We give extreme preference to submissions tha...

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Lil AVCX @lilavcx.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

We're thrilled to say the 2024 AVCX subscriber drive was a success! Lil AVCX will continue in 2025, and we will have a roster of new constructors in our mentorship program. Keep an eye out in your inbox and here for news about that next week.

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Check out the latest Lil AVCX puzzle from @oliogrids.bsky.social! I had the pleasure of editing this one; I think you'll find it delightful.

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Looking for American-style cryptics? Check out this brand new venue from Crossweird - super excited to see this out in the world. Congrats on the launch, team! And just look at that puzzle pack you get for joining 👀

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Such a treat to collab with @oliogrids.bsky.social! Hope you enjoy our puzzle in the LA Times 😊

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

My first puzzle of 2025 - solve for free at The Walrus. Happy New Year! Thanks to @emmalawson.bsky.social for her excellent editorial eye (eee?). thewalrus.ca/games/crossw... #crossword #thewalrus #puzzles

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Lil AVCX @lilavcx.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Appreciate all who are spreading the word about AVCX! Still time to get free shipping in time for the holidays with an AVCX subscription! 🎁www.tiktok.com/@myli...

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Such a thrill to see this in print! My first variety cryptic, my first barred grid, my first with @juffowup.bsky.social ... big day! Thanks for a great collab! 😍

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

It’s been such a treat to edit Lydia and Christina’s Lil AVCX puzzles this year — their goofy sense of humour is the best! Don’t miss their last one of the year

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Jess Shulman @jessshulman.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Join me for a puzzle at The Walrus 😊 thewalrus.ca/games/crossw... #crossword

Screenshot of a crossword puzzle, highlighting a clue that says “Collection of post-breakup songs?”

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