Mike Shenk sits in his Manhattan office, surrounded by dictionaries and reference books, doing what millions of solvers will attempt tomorrow morning. He’s working through a crossword puzzle, but unlike commuters with coffee and pencils, Shenk gets paid for it. As the Wall Street Journal’s crossword editor since 1998, he’s turned the newspaper’s puzzle section into one of the most respected in American journalism.
Table of Contents
A Lancaster Farm Boy Built an Empire
Shenk grew up solving his mother’s Dell crossword books on a Lancaster County farm in Pennsylvania. While other kids played baseball, he designed mazes in the family barn. That early passion led him to Penn State, where he earned a mathematics degree in 1979. But his real education happened at The Daily Collegian, where he became the newspaper’s first daily crossword constructor.
Five puzzles a week for three years. That’s how Shenk learned his craft.
After a miserable year teaching math at a vocational high school in York, Pennsylvania, he switched careers entirely. He started submitting to Games magazine in 1980, eventually becoming its editor. By the time the Wall Street Journal came calling in 1998, Shenk had already established himself among puzzle constructors.
He’s created more than 10,000 puzzles since then. Sometimes he publishes under pseudonyms like Marie Kelly (an anagram of “really Mike”) or Colin Gale (an anagram of “Collegian”). When the editor and constructor credit would both read “Mike Shenk,” he figured readers might find that odd.
From Weekly Feature to Daily Staple
The Journal launched its crossword in 1998 with a single 21×21 puzzle every Friday. Back then, it was a modest experiment. The puzzle found its audience slowly but steadily.
Saturday variety puzzles arrived in 2005 when the newspaper introduced its weekend edition. These weren’t standard crosswords but cryptics, acrostics, and other formats that challenged solvers in different ways.
The big expansion came in September 2015. The Journal added daily weekday puzzles, giving subscribers 15×15 grids Monday through Friday. The Friday puzzle took on a new role as a weekly contest. The larger 21×21 crosswords moved to Saturday, accompanied by those variety puzzles.
Today’s schedule runs six days a week:
Monday through Thursday: Standard 15×15 crosswords with up to 78 words
Friday: Contest puzzles where solvers hunt for a hidden meta answer
Saturday: A 21×21 crossword plus a variety puzzle, often a cryptic
The puzzles don’t run on Sunday, though Saturday’s 21×21 grid matches the size of traditional Sunday puzzles found in other newspapers.
Friday’s Puzzle Within a Puzzle
Friday crosswords look normal at first glance. Solvers fill the grid like any other day. Then comes the twist.
Hidden somewhere in the completed puzzle sits another answer. The meta could be a celebrity name, a country, a movie title, or a phrase. Solvers extract this answer and email it to the contest address by Sunday midnight Eastern time.
The rules keep it simple. U.S. residents 18 and older can enter. One submission per person. The Journal picks one winner at random from correct entries each week.
This format has built its own community. Forums like XWord Muggles fill with solvers comparing notes after the Sunday deadline. Some weeks, hundreds of people get the right answer. Other weeks, only a handful crack the code.
Saturday Brings Something Different
Saturday editions go beyond crosswords. Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon construct many of the cryptic puzzles that appear in this slot. Patrick Berry and Mike Shenk contribute others. Each Saturday might bring:
- Cryptic crosswords where clues have double meanings
- Acrostics that spell out hidden messages
- Rows Garden puzzles with unusual grid shapes
- Custom formats invented by the constructors
The variety keeps experienced solvers from falling into routines. A cryptic demands different skills than a standard crossword. Acrostics require patience and pattern recognition. Shenk has even invented formats like Snowflake and Spell Weaving specifically for this slot.
The National Museum of Mathematics also contributes a weekly Varsity Math puzzle on Saturdays.
What Sets WSJ Apart
The Journal’s editorial standards skip the shortcuts that plague lesser crosswords. Shenk looks for clever themes first, then builds outward. The fill should use common, recognizable words. Obscure crosswordese gets cut. So do excessive abbreviations and partial phrases.
Proper names appear, but they can’t all come from one field. A grid heavy with sports stars or pop culture references gets rejected. The puzzle should challenge without excluding solvers who aren’t experts in specific topics.
Rebus puzzles, where multiple letters squeeze into one square, show up rarely. When they do appear, the theme justifies the format.
Constructors who want to submit follow specific guidelines. Daily puzzles max out at 78 words. Weekend puzzles can reach 140 to 144 words. The Journal pays $200 for daily submissions and $500 for weekend puzzles. It buys all rights, including first publication.
The Constructor Network
Shenk edits work from dozens of constructors, some established and others new to the field. Patrick Berry’s puzzles are known for smooth fills and fair cluing. Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon dominate the cryptic space. Other constructors work under pseudonyms or anonymously.
The mix keeps the puzzle fresh. Different voices bring different sensibilities. A Berry puzzle feels different from a Shenk original, which feels different from work by newer constructors testing their skills.
Where Solvers Meet the Puzzle
Wall Street Journal subscribers access puzzles through the newspaper’s website at wsj.com/puzzles. The same puzzles appear in print editions for readers who prefer paper.
Students can subscribe to the digital pack for $4 monthly through Student Beans with a valid student ID. That package includes access to all games and puzzles.
Several fan sites track daily solutions and provide hints, though these aren’t affiliated with the Journal. The official puzzle forum sees the most discussion, particularly around Friday contest answers.
The Streak Continues
Twenty-eight years after that first Friday puzzle appeared, the Wall Street Journal crossword has carved out its niche. It’s not the New York Times with its century of history. It’s not as accessible as USA Today’s easier puzzles.
Instead, it occupies the space between approachable and brutally difficult. Shenk and his team of constructors build puzzles that reward clever thinking without requiring obscure knowledge. The Friday contest adds competition without taking away from the solving experience. Saturday varieties prove crosswords aren’t the only way to challenge with words.
That Lancaster farm boy who solved his mother’s puzzle books turned his hobby into a career that’s shaped how thousands of people start their mornings. Not bad for someone who hated teaching math.
