“Secrets of the Puzzle Master: A Virtual Conversation with Will Shortz,” April 25

Tuesday, April 25, 7 p.m.

Presented by the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries

The editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, author/editor of more than 500 puzzle books, and world’s only academically accredited puzzle master will discuss his fill-in-the-blanks career in the insightful and delightful presentation Secrets of a Puzzle Master: A Virtual Conversation with Will Shortz, an April 25 event offered by Illinois Libraries Present and co-hosted by the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries.

Born and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Shortz was drawn to puzzles at an early age. In eighth grade, he wrote a paper titled “Puzzles as a Profession." and at age 13, the young man wrote to Language on Vacation author Dmitri Borgmann for advice on how to pursue a career in puzzles. Three years later, Shortz began regularly contributing crossword puzzles to Dell publications, and he graduated from Indiana University in 1974 as the only person known to hold a college degree in enigmatology: the study of puzzles. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1977, but did not sit for the bar exam, and began a career in puzzles instead.

Shortz began his career at Penny Press Magazines, then moved to Games magazine for 15 years. In 1993, he became the crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times, the fourth in the paper's history, after serving as the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for 15 years. Shortz also founded the World Puzzle Championship in 1992 and is a director of the U.S. Puzzle Team. A weekly guest on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, Shortz hosts Sunday Puzzle, a cooperative game between the show's host and one of the program's listeners. Also a central figure in the 2006 documentary Wordplay, Shortz is the author or editor of more than 100 books and owns more than 20,000 puzzle books and magazines dating back to 1545 – reportedly the world's largest private library on the subject.

The virtual program Secrets of the Puzzle Master: A Virtual Conversation with Will Shortz will be viewable on April 25, participation in the 7 p.m. program is free, and more information is available by calling (309)732-7323 and visiting RockIslandLibrary.org, and calling (309)524-2470 and visiting MolineLibrary.com.