Great Canadian Puzzle Book series

My first job in publishing was around 1982, when I contributed crosswords and other word puzzles to a giant-sized book of puzzles called The Great Canadian Puzzle Book. The editor was my friend Daniel Liebman. A few years ago, starting around 2015, we resuscitated that title as a series of books for Collins.

The art of puzzle construction has has changed. In the 1980s, composing a crossword involved a ruler, India ink to paint the squares, and specialized dictionaries for looking up words with letters in various positions. These days, computers have removeed much of the grunt work, so creators can compose more complex and playful puzzles.