John Greenman author page

John Greenman, a longtime college textbook editor, had 64 puzzles in the Times, including 12 in the Shortz Era. He was also published by the Tribune syndicate and People magazine.

Eugene Maleska, in his 1984 book "Across and Down," identified John as one of the most promising newcomers to constructing.

Born in 1936, he grew up in Deposit, New York. His mother was a librarian and his father was a veterinarian. He attended Hamilton College, graduating in 1957 with a degree in English literature.

As the Hamilton alumni magazine explained about his career path:

From Hamilton and at the recommendation of a mentor in the English Department, John moved to New York City to work for the publishing company then known as Harper & Brothers. (As a result of mergers, it became Harper & Row in 1962 and HarperCollins in 1990.) His first assignment was as a publisher's representative, specifically a "College Traveler." He visited colleges and universities in his geographic territory, the Upper Midwest, to meet with faculty members and, ideally, sell them on new textbooks in their respective fields….

By [1963], John had been promoted to editor for economics and business administration in the company's college division. As his career unfolded, he rose to senior editor by 1989 and later to executive editor, the position he held when he retired in 1997. John wasn't very interested in the management of a publishing company; he preferred the nuts-and-bolts of editing and thus cultivated a comparatively small group of authors with whom he worked for a number of years.

In 1963, John married Barbara Storms, a children's book editor. They had two children, a daughter and a son.

In retirement, in addition to constructing crosswords, John had many pursuits. These included volunteering at the information desk of the Weill Cornell-NY Presbyterian Hospital, sketching, needlepoint, and attending the theater, sometimes four times a week, according to the Hamilton alumni magazine.