Helene Hovanec is a former elementary school teacher who has authored 66

puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are differe ...

books, 59 of which are for children. Hovanec earned a B.S. in Child Development from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and an M.S. in Early Childhood Education from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

. She taught elementary school in New York and New Jersey. Her children's puzzle books, which are geared for kids between the ages of three and 12, have sold over two million copies worldwide. In addition to her books Hovanec is involved in the grown-up puzzle world, mainly through her connection to

Will Shortz William F. Shortz (born August 26, 1952) is an American puzzle creator and editor who is the crossword editor for ''The New York Times''. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in the invented field of enigmatology. After starting h ...

. With Shortz she: * Met

Margaret Farrar Margaret Petherbridge Farrar (March 23, 1897 – June 11, 1984) was an American journalist and the first crossword puzzle editor for ''The New York Times'' (1942–1968). Creator of many of the rules of modern crossword design, she compiled and e ...

, the pioneering crossword editor, and wrote about her contribution to the world of crossword puzzles. * Helped reinstitute the annual conventions of The

National Puzzlers' League The National Puzzlers' League (NPL) is a nonprofit organization focused on puzzling, primarily in the realm of word play and word games. Founded in 1883, it is the oldest puzzlers' organization in the world. It originally hosted semiannual conventi ...

. * Helped form the

World Puzzle Championship The World Puzzle Championship (commonly abbreviated as WPC) is an annual international puzzle competition run by the World Puzzle Federation. All the puzzles in the competition are pure-logic problems based on simple principles, designed to be pla ...

. She was the coordinator for the first and ninth WPCs and was the chairwoman of the captains' committee for several years. * Is the coordinator for The

American Crossword Puzzle Tournament The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) is a crossword-solving tournament held annually in February, March, or April. Founded in 1978 by Will Shortz, who still directs the tournament, it is the oldest and largest crossword tournament h ...

, the world's oldest and largest event of its kind. An interview with Hovanec was published on Jim Horne's

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Wordplay blog on August 30, 2009.Horne, Jim
"Fred Piscop and Helene Hovanec"
''

''. August 30, 2009.

References

External links

Official Helene Hovanec: Puzzles For Kids website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hovanec, Helene Puzzle designers Cornell University alumni Hunter College alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)