Ah, September, that baffling month where pumpkins are for sale in containers labeled with pictures of watermelons. But I digress. Back to crosswords! This month’s contest puzzle is “The Brains of the Operation” by Carina da Rosa. The meta answer is a famous novel. You can find Carina’s bio over on our Team Ariadne page.…

Should you beat the August heat with a crossword puzzle or a card game today? Good news, you can do both! This month’s contest puzzle is “If You Play Your Cards Right” by Faren Roth. The meta answer is a literary antagonist. You can find Faren’s bio over on our Team Ariadne page. She also…

Somehow, 2026 is half over. Starting off the second half of the year, we have “State of Communication” by Emma Oxford for your meta-solving enjoyment. The meta answer is a novel published in the 1980s whose title would make a good sixth theme answer. To submit to the contest, send an email with your answer…

Month six of 2026 and ACL is continuing its streak of guest constructors! This month’s contest puzzle is “The Art of Writing” by Lee Taylor. The meta answer is a novel. Lee has had more time to focus on crossword construction since retiring from the National Park Service and is just getting into the exciting…

Straight to the puzzle this month! This month’s contest puzzle is “Double or Nothing” by Faren Roth. The meta answer is a popular children’s book series. Faren is soon-to-be PhD student, and “Double or Nothing” is her first puzzle published by ACL. You can find her full bio over on our Team Ariadne page. To…

Happy Janua–Aug–April?? It’s April?? Ok, if you say so. Onto the puzzle! This month’s contest puzzle is “No One Can Divide Them” by Heather Gearan. The meta answer is a novel. You can find Heather’s bio over on our Team Ariadne page, and she also constructed ACL’s November 2025 puzzle. To submit to the contest,…

We are back with TWO new guest constructors this month! March’s puzzle is “Use Your Inside Voice” by Carina da Rosa and Shannon Rapp. The meta answer is a well-known children’s novel. Carina is a Lil AVCX alum and has had crosswords appear in several daily outlets as well as in the Boswords 2025 Fall…

Let’s get right to the puzzle this month! Continuing our lineup of guest constructors, February’s puzzle is “Fairy Rings” by Madison Shultz. The meta answer is a literary character. Madison recently started a crossword blog called Crossword Curiosities with fellow ACL constructor Hannah Binney, and “Fairy Rings” is her first meta puzzle! You can find…

Happy 2026! Before we get to the puzzle, a huge thank you to everyone who responded to my call for donations last month. Your contributions are so helpful to the longevity of this project, and I appreciate enormously the show of support. I’ve removed the donation links from the Support ACL page for the time…

Ho-ho-holy Christmas cracker it’s December. Sorry, that was terrible. Moving right along. Before we get to the puzzle, some housekeeping to take care of. I am delighted to report that submissions to ACL from imaginative and talented guest constructors have gone way up in the last month, and we are on track to have many…