Who's Who at Westwords

Constructors

Meet the seven crossword constructors who made puzzles for the Westwords tournament, and learn about some of the past puzzles that they're fondest of. (Want to see our constructor reveal puzzle? Click here.)

Adam Wagner

Adam (he/him) is an Oakland-based puzzle maker, ebike dad, beekeeper, and creative lead at Patreon who just celebrated his ten-year California-versary in May. As a NY-born CA transplant, Adam enjoys his bagels with avocado on them.

He loves all of his puzzles equally, but he thinks the one he's proudest of has to be this one (constructor notes here).

Amanda Rafkin

Amanda (she/her) is the editor of the USA Today crossword and lives in Los Angeles. Her ten-year LA-versary is actually this August, so she guesses she'll officially be an Angeleno then!

When trying to think of a puzzle that holds a unique place for her, Amanda realized that most/all of her puzzles have now merged into one giant amorphous puzzle in her mind.

Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Enrique (he/him) is a data scientist and computational linguist who lives in Oakland, CA with his partner, Vince, and their terripoo, Daisy. He writes crosswords for a variety of outlets and co-maintains spreadthewordlist.com, which offers a free wordlist intended to make crossword construction more accessible. Outside of CrossWorld, you can find him playing tennis, singing at piano bars, and hosting board game nights where he serves up classic cocktails. You can visit datalexic.com for more of his puzzles and thoughts.

A crossword that holds a special place in Enrique's heart is his New Yorker themed puzzle titled "Something in the Air." He says, "Aside from being one of my favorite themes that I've put together, with a cool visual progression, it's 'pinch me' unreal that I get to have a byline in a magazine I love and respect tremendously."

Mollie Cowger

Mollie (she/her) lives in San Francisco and is a member of the crossword editing team at The New Yorker. She’s lived in California for more than a decade, first in SoCal for college, and then in the Bay Area since. She is an avid hiker, baker, and transit enthusiast, and can often be found out and about in the city or at home with her prickly but beloved cat, Blue.

A couple of puzzles that are special to Mollie are, in her words:

Rafael Musa

Rafa (he/him) has lived in the Bay Area for over 10 years. He loves the West Coast (best coast) and cannot wait for Westwords (bestwords). He wishes it were 15 degrees warmer at all times in San Francisco, but he continues to bravely layer up to make it through 55-degree July days. When he is not evangelizing California in hopes of making his East Coast (least coast) friends move, he is usually found making crosswords with his cat Georgia.

As for a crossword special to Rafa: "I have to go with the pride puzzle that ran in June 2023 in the NYT! More info on my constructor notes here, and I was recently honored to get an ORCA Award for that puzzle, announced by KCP herself no less!"

Rich Proulx

Rich (he/him) is a 4th generation Bay Area-ian. He was born in Mt. View, raised in San Jose, and is a Cal grad. He lives on the Nuclear-Free-Zone side of the Berkeley/Oakland border with his wife, son, two cats, and a dog named Hagrid.

A favorite puzzle of Rich's is this one (notes here). "I had a list of hundreds of sounds I was trying in different configurations to identify entries that fit the theme [sound + sound = something totally different] Finding a theme set was tricky. Talking to Joel (who edited the puzzle) about what makes a word crossword worthy sparked an epiphany about the evolution of language."

Sara Cantor

Sara (they/them) is a computational linguist based in Denver, CO. They are an East Coaster by birth and an East Coast Traitor by choice. They enjoy cooking, improv, reading, and debating whether or not to get a cat.

Asked about a crossword that's special to them, Sara said, "This puzzle is important to me! I made it for my friend's zine, which was for their Gender Studies class in school."

Tournament Directors and Editors

The Westwords directors are Rebecca Goldstein, Kate Chin Park, Stan Park, and John Lieb. Puzzles were edited by Rebecca and Kate.

Rebecca Goldstein (she/her) is a brilliant and prolific constructor, primarily of themed puzzles. Along with her bylines in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and elsewhere, she constructed the innovative, multi-part Sunday-sized puzzle for Lollapuzzoola 16, and was named Constructor of the Year in the most recent ORCA Awards. Rebecca moved to the Bay Area in 2016, where she enjoys delightful weather year round and time zone privilege.

Kate Chin Park (she/her) is a crossword editor at the New Yorker and a versatile constructor of various puzzle types ranging from acrostics to minis to hard themelesses. Her puzzles have appeared in crossword publications, newspapers, and tournaments, including a Boswords championship puzzle. Kate grew up in Spokane, went to college in San Diego, and after twelve years elsewhere, returned to the west coast in 2016. She lives in Oakland.

Stan Park (he/him) is a crossword enthusiast and speed-solver. He recently finished 15th at the 2024 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, earning him a spot in the B finals. Outside of crosswords, he is a Program Manager, a Tottenham Hotspur fanatic, and a fervent home chef. Stan was raised in the Bay Area and currently resides in Oakland with his wife Kate (EVER HEARD OF HER?) and cat.

John Lieb (he/him) is a director of Boswords, a series of online and in-person crossword events that began in the summer of 2017. A Philadelphia native and longtime Boston resident, John is looking forward to a summer adventure out west for Westwords. When not Boswording, John is a Math teacher and coach of football and baseball at The Roxbury Latin School in Boston where he enjoys dressing up for Pi Day.