Information about the new TLS crossword setters

Author   petebiddlecombePosted on Categories Announcement
In alphabetical order:

​Broteas is Peter Biddlecombe, Sunday Times (and TLS) crossword editor
Myrtilus is Bob Price, a former successful contestant in the Sunday Times clue writing contest
Praxiteles is D G Tallis, who has set puzzles for many other papers, including the Telegraph, The Times (Listener), the Church Times, and the Oxford Times
Talos is David McLean, who sets crosswords for the Sunday Times and Church Times. As Hoskins, he also sets puzzles for The Independent and Magpie.

5 comments on “Information about the new TLS crossword setters”

  1. Broteas, eh? Might have to amend a couple of comments in my next entry.
  2. Well all I can say (and have said in my blogs) is that we’ve had some very fine and fiendish puzzles this year. Verlaine, Jason and Dave Howell can do it but the rest of us only beat the 30 minute mark very very rarely, and it’s a pleasure to sit down to something you can really sink your teeth into. The Talos Sunday puzzles have been especially enjoyable so I’m looking forward to comparing and contrasting with the TLS ones.

    I’ve no idea what level of participation the puzzles command via the wider readership (not just the Crossword Club) but it does occur to me to wonder if there might be opportunities for syndication of the puzzles. The NY Review of Books comes to mind because it’s not a rival for the TLS circulation.

    1. Syndication is a double-edged sword, he says from Sunday Times Crossword experience. Syndicated versions appear later, in a different context, and often with a puzzle number chosen by the syndication customer. In different ways, TLS 1111 and the April Fool and Shakespeare puzzles would have looked odd as syndicated crosswords.

      So my inclination is to enjoy our current freedom and deal with these issues if and when the TLS syndication people make a sale …

      Edited at 2016-06-07 03:00 pm (UTC)

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