Puzzle

Puzzle Notes

Dear friends,

Black Lives Matter.

We work for justice at the Inkubator, not only in crosswords, but in all of our communities. We hope you'll join us however you can: donate to a local bail fund, support organizations working to transform communities affected by police violence, and educate yourself.

It's the beginning of Pride Month, and let's remember that Stonewall was a riot, led by trans women of color protesting police brutality. All month, the Inkubator will be amplifying the work of some organizations working toward justice in the queer community: this week, check out LGBT Books to Prisoners, which sends reading material (including puzzle books!) to incarcerated people across the US. This week's constructor, Amanda Rafkin, would like to highlight the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which provides health and social services to queer folks in Southern California.

We're thrilled to welcome Amanda back to the Inkubator, for her second puzzle with us. She has a message for solvers in this week's puzzle, which is that she is "Glad You're Here." We're glad our LGBTQ+ family and friends are here too. We think you'll find this week's puzzle lightly challenging.

Amanda Rafkin is a Los Angeles-based musical theater pianist and crossword puzzle constructor. She is absolutely delighted to be kicking off Pride Month with this puzzle for The Inkubator, and hopes everyone finds a safe way to celebrate this year in the absence of the usual festivities. If you're looking for more puzzles to solve during these strange and unprecedented times, she recently began Brain Candy, a site where she posts puzzles daily. And to anyone reading this who may be struggling with the subject matter of this puzzle, please feel free to reach out if you need an ear. Find Amanda on Twitter at @amandarafkin.

When you're done solving, check out Diary of a Crossword Fiend for a write-up and discussion, every Friday after an Inkubator puzzle is published. For general updates, follow us on twitter at @InkubatorXWords, and visit our website. Thanks to all of our subscribers for your continuing support, feedback, and kindness!

Coming up next, on June 18: a themeless from Julie Pierre.

All best,
Laura and Tracy