Trip Payne
Encyclopedia
Norman "Trip" Payne is an American cruciverbalist living in Florida
who has published over 4,000 crosswords and variety puzzles.
. He grew up in nearby Spartanburg and has been making puzzles professionally since publication in Games
in November 1983. He attended Emory University
in Atlanta, graduating with a degree in English in 1990.
In 1992 he was awarded the industry's "Wynner Award" (named for Arthur Wynne
, the original creator of crosswords) for making one of the best crossword puzzles of the year.
After graduation, he moved to New York
and was editor-in-chief of Herald Tribune Crossword Puzzles Only, Large Print Crosswords, and Crosswords & Other Word Games magazines, 1990-1991. He moved back to Atlanta in 1991 to embark upon a full-time freelance puzzlemaking career. He is a former contributing editor to Games, Games World of Puzzles
, and Crossword magazines, and a former proofreader for Creators Syndicate
, Dell Champion Crossword Puzzles, and other magazines.
In 1999, Payne was the third contestant ever to appear on the U.S. version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and was the first to earn $32,000.
In 2002, one of his crosswords was voted Puzzle of the Year by solvers of the New York Times crossword puzzle.
A member of the National Puzzlers' League
since 1986, he served as vice president from 1991 to 1992 and hosted the group's annual convention in Atlanta in 1998. He created or co-created vast multi-puzzle team games for the 1991 and 1993 conventions.
In 2006, Payne was one of the crossword solvers profiled in the documentary Wordplay
. He has also appeared more briefly on a number of other television shows, including an episode of Nightline about the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
.
Payne was the "Word Expert" on the CBS game show Million Dollar Password. He authors the wordoku puzzle in TV Guide
. He also occasionally writes puzzles for the New York Times, the New York Sun
, and the Wall Street Journal, and usually authors one or two puzzle books per year for Sterling Publishing
. He is ranked among the top 50 Scrabble players in North America.
He currently makes five crosswords a week for Yahoo!
, Daily Crossword with Hints.
Payne has also been published in New York Newsday; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; the New Yorker
; Dell Champion Crossword Puzzles; Creators Syndicate
; United Feature Syndicate; the Simon & Schuster
crossword puzzle book series; the Expert's Book of Crosswords; Masterpiece Crosswords; Random House
Ultrahard Crosswords; and Random House
Editor's Choice Crosswords. Small magazines and by-mail crossword clubs for more dedicated solvers include Tough Puzzles, Tough Cryptics, Cryptics Monthly, Uptown Crossword Club, and Crossword Puzzles of the Month Club.
Magazines that have run specially commissioned puzzles from Payne include Golf Magazine
, Manhattan File, American Times, Out, and many more; corporate clients have included IBM
, NPR
, Amtrak
, MetLife, Dodge
, Fox TV, Hanna-Barbera
, Fruit of the Loom
, and Kleenex
.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
who has published over 4,000 crosswords and variety puzzles.
Early life and education
Payne was born in Rock Hill, South CarolinaRock Hill, South Carolina
Rock Hill is the largest city in York County, South Carolina and the fourth-largest city in the state. It is also the third-largest city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, behind Charlotte and Concord, North Carolina. The population was 71,459 as of . Rock Hill has undergone rapid growth between...
. He grew up in nearby Spartanburg and has been making puzzles professionally since publication in Games
Games magazine
Games magazine may refer to:* Games , an American magazine about general games* GamesTM, a British video games magazine* List of game magazines and :Category:Game magazines...
in November 1983. He attended Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in Atlanta, graduating with a degree in English in 1990.
Career
Payne interned at Games during his college summer vacations, where one of his pseudonyms was the anagram "Art Pipeny"; he was expected to go on to work there full-time after college, but two days before his graduation, the magazine folded temporarily. In 1990 he also served on the four-person American team that won the International Crossword Marathon.In 1992 he was awarded the industry's "Wynner Award" (named for Arthur Wynne
Arthur Wynne
Arthur Wynne was the British-born inventor of the crossword puzzle.-Early life:Arthur Wynne was born on June 22, 1871 in Liverpool, England...
, the original creator of crosswords) for making one of the best crossword puzzles of the year.
After graduation, he moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and was editor-in-chief of Herald Tribune Crossword Puzzles Only, Large Print Crosswords, and Crosswords & Other Word Games magazines, 1990-1991. He moved back to Atlanta in 1991 to embark upon a full-time freelance puzzlemaking career. He is a former contributing editor to Games, Games World of Puzzles
GAMES World of Puzzles
Games World of Puzzles is a puzzle magazine published bimonthly by Games Publications, a division of Kappa Publishing Group. It is a spinoff of Games magazine focusing solely on pencil puzzles. A centerpiece section contains a feature puzzle or puzzles, such as puzzles from the World Puzzle...
, and Crossword magazines, and a former proofreader for Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate is an independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. It was founded in 1987 by Richard S. Newcombe, and is based in Los Angeles. Creators was one of the first syndicates to allow its clients to maintain creative control of their material...
, Dell Champion Crossword Puzzles, and other magazines.
In 1999, Payne was the third contestant ever to appear on the U.S. version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and was the first to earn $32,000.
In 2002, one of his crosswords was voted Puzzle of the Year by solvers of the New York Times crossword puzzle.
A member of the National Puzzlers' League
National Puzzlers' League
The National Puzzlers' League 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...
since 1986, he served as vice president from 1991 to 1992 and hosted the group's annual convention in Atlanta in 1998. He created or co-created vast multi-puzzle team games for the 1991 and 1993 conventions.
In 2006, Payne was one of the crossword solvers profiled in the documentary Wordplay
Wordplay (film)
Wordplay is a 2006 documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. It features Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, crossword constructor Merl Reagle, and many other noted crossword solvers and constructors...
. He has also appeared more briefly on a number of other television shows, including an episode of Nightline about the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is a crossword-solving tournament held annually in late February or early March. Founded in 1978 by Will Shortz, who still directs the tournament, it is the oldest and largest crossword tournament held in the United States; the 2009 event attracted nearly...
.
Payne was the "Word Expert" on the CBS game show Million Dollar Password. He authors the wordoku puzzle in TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
. He also occasionally writes puzzles for the New York Times, the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
, and the Wall Street Journal, and usually authors one or two puzzle books per year for Sterling Publishing
Sterling Publishing
Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. is a publisher of nonfiction titles, with more than 5,000 books in print. Founded in 1949, it publishes a wide range of nonfiction and illustrated titles in categories which include art, biography/autobiography, body/mind/spirit, crafts, culinary, do-it-yourself,...
. He is ranked among the top 50 Scrabble players in North America.
He currently makes five crosswords a week for Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, Daily Crossword with Hints.
Publications
- 365 Mind-Challenging Cryptograms
- The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Word Puzzles (co-author)
- Crosswords to Strain Your Brain
- Pop Culture Crosswords
- Sit & Solve Scratch Movie Trivia
- Sit & Solve Crosswords (volumes 1-3)
- Crosswords for Kids (volumes 1-8)
- Cosmopolitans & Crosswords
- Tiptop Crisscross Puzzles
Payne has also been published in New York Newsday; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
; Dell Champion Crossword Puzzles; Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate is an independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. It was founded in 1987 by Richard S. Newcombe, and is based in Los Angeles. Creators was one of the first syndicates to allow its clients to maintain creative control of their material...
; United Feature Syndicate; the Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
crossword puzzle book series; the Expert's Book of Crosswords; Masterpiece Crosswords; Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
Ultrahard Crosswords; and Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
Editor's Choice Crosswords. Small magazines and by-mail crossword clubs for more dedicated solvers include Tough Puzzles, Tough Cryptics, Cryptics Monthly, Uptown Crossword Club, and Crossword Puzzles of the Month Club.
Magazines that have run specially commissioned puzzles from Payne include Golf Magazine
Golf Magazine
Golf Magazine is a monthly golf magazine owned by Time Inc.. It was started in 1960 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was the world's most widely read golf publication from August 2006 to January 2007. The magazine is...
, Manhattan File, American Times, Out, and many more; corporate clients have included IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, MetLife, Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
, Fox TV, Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...
, and Kleenex
Kleenex
Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of toiletry paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, and diapers. The name Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. Often used as a genericized trademark, especially in the United States, "Kleenex"...
.