About

Jess Rucks (she/her) is a crossword constructor living in Colorado; she is a Minnesotan at heart. Her puzzles have been published in The New York Times, Apple News+, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Universal, AVCX, AVCX+, Lil AVCX, Boswords, Puzzmo, and The Inkubator. She describes her puzzles as sparkly, solvable, and sincere.

She runs the monthly Constructor Spotlight feature at Daily Crossword Links. In November 2025, she was the featured constructor; you can read more about her in this interview.

Jess is also part of the editing team at Lil AVCX.

In the past, Jess has been a philosophy major, D-1 volleyball player, landscaper, barista, server, bartender, Air Force linguist, and stay-at-home mom. She is now a licensed school counselor and a licensed professional counselor candidate who provides clinical play-based therapy to elementary students.