David Steinberg Named Editor of Universal Crossword

Kansas City, Mo. – Andrews McMeel Syndication (AMS) is pleased to announce David Steinberg as editor of Universal Crossword, effective immediately.

A formidable puzzle enthusiast, David Steinberg published his first crossword puzzle in The New York Times in 2011 at the age of 14, making him the second-youngest constructor at that time to be published under Will Shortz's editorship.  At 15, David became the crossword editor of the Orange County Register's 24 affiliated newspapers and the youngest known crossword editor for a major newspaper.

"I'm so grateful that I get to pursue my passion for crosswords full time!” said Steinberg.  “I'm especially honored to be editing the Universal Crossword, one of Andrews McMeel Syndication's flagship puzzles."

To date, nearly 500 of David’s puzzles have been published in The New York Times and other publications (including the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today).  Most recently, he served as the editor of The Puzzle Society Crossword. 

David is also the author of two books of crosswords: Juicy Crosswords (Sterling/Puzzlewright Press) and Chromatics (Puzzazz). He is the founder and director of the Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project, a collaborative effort to build a digitized, searchable database of New York Times crossword puzzles dating back to 1942. 

In addition, David is a frequent attendee of crossword tournaments, where he has also served as a judge.  He hails from California's Monterey Peninsula and is currently a senior at Stanford University.  When not busy with a puzzle or school, he can be found reading his favorite comic strips. 

About Andrews McMeel Syndication 

Universal Crossword is a feature distributed by Andrews McMeel Syndication (AMS), the largest independent newspaper feature syndicate in the U.S. AMS is a division of Andrews McMeel Universal, a creative media company based in Kansas City, Missouri, and home of iconic comics such as Calvin and Hobbes, Doonesbury, Peanuts, The Far Side, Garfield, and contemporary favorites Sarah’s Scribbles, Breaking Cat News, and Phoebe and Her Unicorn. Other divisions include a global publishing house (Andrews McMeel Publishing) and Andrews McMeel Entertainment, the film and television division.  No matter the medium, our aim is to bring joy and inspiration to people’s lives through the work of our talented creators (andrewsmcmeel.com).

Contact: Kathy Hilliard, khilliard@amuniversal.com