It’s Quite Vexing, isn’t it?

If you find yourself thinking that, you’re in the right place: this is Quite Vexing, a culture newsletter about puzzles, games and wordplay. (Among other things.)

Who the hell are you?

Great question! My name’s Quiara1, and I am one of maybe two dozen Americans working as a full-time crossword editor.2 You can see my work day-to-day over at Slate and at AVCX3; you’ve also possibly seen my byline in most of the usual places for puzzles (New York Times, Newsday, USA Today, etc).

What can I expect from this newsletter?

The main thing you’ll be getting on Quite Vexing is bi-monthly posts rounding up the best in crossword puzzles, from the ones in the New York Times to the ones on the tiniest of blogs. There are almost too many crosswords to count these days; I solve them all so you don’t have to.4

Between those posts you’ll get… whatever strikes my fancy, honestly! More stuff about games (word and otherwise). Interviews with some notable crossword personalities. Movie and book reviews, occasionally. That sort of thing.

Is anything on here paywalled?

No, and I’m not planning on having any content exclusive to paying subscribers (to the joy of Substack skeptics everywhere, I’m sure). But! If I sell an original puzzle pack in the future, I will also give paid subscribers here access to that pack. So perhaps that may entice you to pledge a subscription?

Who’s the little pink guy?

She’s just a Pokémon I happen to think is cute (or at least, much cuter than I am!)