EDMONDS, Wash. -- An Edmonds teen became so good at crossword puzzles, he decided to build them himself. It landed him in the New York Times at just 14-years-old.
On the outside, David Steinberg looks like any teen, but inside, there are many words to describe him.
I've always loved words, says Steinberg. I use to play Scrabble a lot.
His parents, both English majors, no longer play with him.
We never win, never win anymore, says his mother, Karen Steinberg. It's just sad!
David started doing crosswords at the age of 12.
I guess I was getting bored of all the same puzzles all the time, he says.
Soon he started making his own crosswords.
Then I was hooked, he says.
Just as he was finishing 8th grade at Lakeside School, David got to see the fruits of his labor in black and white. Not just any newspaper, but the New York Times, June 16, 2011 edition.
The New York Times is not only the most well-known, kind of the cream of the crop, but the themes are the most unusual and creative, David says.
He's the third youngest crossword builder in the papers' history.
We can tell David how hard it is, says his mother. But he's 14, he doesn't get it.
So far the New York Times has accepted four of his crossword puzzles. Three of them are to be published at a later date.
I get $200 per day week puzzles. The Sunday's are $1,000. That's my ultimate goal, says David.
At 14, he has plenty of time to achieve it.
Steinberg will only be a local kid until the end of the week. That's when he moves to California.
