#Easy crosswords professional

Because our mentors’ time is finite, if you’re not a member of any such group, we ask that you refrain from using the form.” It has always been explicit about its aims to provide resources to underrepresented groups: “This matching form is intended specifically for as a tool for addressing structural inequities in the crossword industry. The Facebook group launched in 2018 with an associated Google form that pairs newcomers with mentors.

#Easy crosswords professional

“Forced, professional relationships just don’t last, whereas Ella is a friend of mine, and serves multiple purposes,” Lucido said, while noting that she would still answer emails from her lapsed mentees to offer advice.įor would-be constructors without such personal connections, there’s the Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory. Lucido and Dershowitz have been collaborating since early in the pandemic, publishing four Times puzzles together in the past two years, including Lucido’s last Sunday puzzle. They met through a high school friend of the actress-and, yes, daughter of infamous lawyer Alan-who attended Brown with Lucido. One of those happenstance mentorships was with Ella Dershowitz.

“The less formal, more happenstance things tend to be more natural and last longer and work better, I guess, for me,” Lucido said. Her mentees all dropped off, saying they didn’t have time for puzzles.

With the George Floyd protests front of mind, she specifically sought out mentees from underrepresented backgrounds, eventually selecting three Black constructors, two of whom were women. Hoping to pay the help she received forward to a new generation, Lucido decided to mentor new constructors at the beginning of the pandemic.