Will Shortz, crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times and host of NPR's “Sunday Puzzle,” is recovering from a stroke, he said Sunday.
Mr. Shortz, who is 71 and has worked for the Times for three decades, shared the health update in a recorded message that aired Sunday at the end of the Puzzle Quiz segment during NPR's “Weekend Edition Sunday.”
“Hey guys, this is Will Shortz. Sorry I've been out the last few weeks. I had a stroke on February 4th and have been in rehabilitation since then, but I am making progress,” he said in the statement. “I look forward to being back with new puzzles soon.”
Weekend Edition Sunday host Ayesha Rascoe wished Mr Shortz a speedy recovery.
“We here at Weekend Edition love Will and I know everyone at home does too and we're keeping our fingers crossed for him and we're so hopeful and we know he'll get better soon,” she said during the segment .
Mr. Shortz, who celebrated his 30th anniversary as crossword editor at The Times last year, also founded the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, was editor of Games magazine for 15 years and appeared weekly as puzzle master on “Weekend Edition Sunday.” ”
“As a kid, I imagined a life where I would sit in the attic somewhere, do my little puzzles for $15 each and somehow survive,” he said in a 2017 interview with The Times. “I actually wrote an essay in eighth grade about what I wanted to do with my life, which was to become a professional puzzle maker.”
Despite his middle school teacher's skepticism about the dream, Mr. Shortz himself designed a degree from Indiana University in enigmatology — the scientific study of mysteries related to semiotics, culture and cognition. He also studied law.
In 1993, Mr. Shortz became the Times' fourth puzzle editor, and in an interview last year he recalled telling his then-editor that he hoped to “maintain the quality and intellectual rigor of the crossword” while attracting young contributors , fresh topics and modern vocabulary.
The content of the crossword puzzles, he said, should have a lasting cultural impact, which he defined as “at least five to 10 years.”
Mr. Shortz could not immediately be reached Sunday for further comment on his recovery and the timing of his return to work.
Jordan Cohen, a spokesman for The New York Times, said in an email that the newspaper was in “regular contact” with Mr. Shortz and wished him “the best on his path to what is expected to be a full recovery.” Mr. Cohen added: “We look forward to having him back at work when he is ready.”
An NPR spokeswoman shared Mr. Shortz's emailed statement on Sunday, but did not immediately respond to questions about when he might return to work.