Patrick Merrell Title: Crossword Author Education: Syracuse University Patrick Merrell has been writing crosswords for 25 years and has been a freelance illustrator, graphic designer, writer, and photographer for even longer. He has been writing crosswords for PEOPLE and PEOPLE books since 2008.Patrick has also written crosswords and word puzzles for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, World Puzzle Championship, Scientific American, MAD magazine, and for 100 books. He wrote and hosted the New York Times daily online crossword column, “Wordplay,” from 2009-2011 and has served as an official at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for more than 20 years. Experience Patrick Merrell has been a puzzle author for 25 years and a freelance illustrator, graphic designer, writer, and photographer for even longer.In addition to PEOPLE, he’s written crossword puzzles for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Scientific American, MAD magazine, and many more. Six of his crosswords appear in the book Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles, the most of any author. He’s the solo creator and packager of 80 puzzle books for a variety of major publishers. He also wrote the New York Times daily online crossword column, “Wordplay,” from 2009-2011 and has served as an official at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for more than 20 years.As a magazine writer, he has written 25 feature articles for the Palm Beach Media Group on a wide variety of subjects. He photographed many of those articles as well. He has also written and photographed more than 50 monthly “Classic Cars” columns.As an illustrator, his work has appeared in 50 magazines and more than 250 books, for both children and adults. More than two million of his maze books have been sold, and he was one of MAD magazine’s “Usual Gang of Idiots,” as an artist, writer, and designer. Education Patrick Merrell studied art and architecture at Syracuse, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was awarded the Cleary Graphic Award as the most outstanding student in the Visual Communications Department. About PEOPLE PEOPLE, a Dotdash Meredith Brand, delivers the most trustworthy celebrity news and captivating human interest stories, connecting you to the pulse of American culture. Since our first issue hit stands in 1974, we have been striving to tell compelling stories about the people behind the issues, as opposed to just the issues themselves. We are your everyday escape, taking you inside the lives of intriguing stars, newsmakers, up-and-comers and ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We serve and delight you by providing ideas about beauty, food and style through the lens of the people influencing the trends. And we are a force for good by telling stories of hope, optimism and kindness that drive conversation and inspire action. Learn more about us and our editorial guidelines.