Timothy Eric Parker (born April 7, 1960) is an American puzzle editor, games creator, author, and TV producer.

Puzzle career

In November 1996, Parker started writing a "Daily Crossword" feature. By early 1997, Parker’s puzzle became the "Universal Crossword" syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate to newspapers and clients worldwide. In 1999, together with Universal Press Syndicate’s Uclick division, Parker founded The Puzzle Society, and is the founder and senior editor of the

Universal Uclick Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various other c ...

line of crossword puzzles and games. On May 19, 2003, Parker became the second crossword editor of

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

following Charles Preston. In summer of 2003, Parker created the "Family Time Crossword".

Plagiarism scandal

On March 4, 2016, the website

FiveThirtyEight ''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...

, in an article by Oliver Roeder, reported that "a group of eagle-eyed puzzlers" had found similarities between 1,537 of the 15,000 puzzles Parker had edited and published through ''USA Today'' and Universal Uclick and ones published by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and other publishers. Ninety-two were similar to ones published by ''The New York Times'' and in 699 cases, the previous publisher was either ''USA Today'' or Universal. Parker said he had not deliberately copied any puzzles, and that the repeated themes were coincidental. On March 7, Universal Uclick and ''USA Today'' issued statements saying that Parker had temporarily stepped down from his role as senior editor while an investigation into the plagiarism allegations was underway. On April 18, 2016, Universal Uclick announced that it had confirmed some of the allegations and that Parker would take a three-month leave of absence. He would "(use) the best available technology to ensure that everything he edits is original." On May 10, 2016, ''USA Today'' announced that it would not publish any future puzzles from Timothy Parker, although it would continue to use vendor Universal Uclick. This came after a social media campaign pressuring ''USA Today'' to take action against Parker. At the end of 2018, Universal Uclick declined to renew its contract with Parker.

Television

In 2006, Parker became the puzzle producer for ''

Merv Griffin's Crosswords ''Merv Griffin's Crosswords'' (also simply called ''Crosswords'') is an American game show based on crossword, crossword puzzles. The show was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, who died shortly after beginning production on the series. Ty Tre ...

.'' According to a press release from Parker, he wrote all questions for 225 episodes singlehandedly. In 2008, Parker contributed to the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

prime time television show ''The Mole.'' In addition, Parker has created puzzles that have appeared on '' The View'', ''

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...

'' and others.

Books

Parker has written or edited over 50 books, a series of puzzle books for the ''

For Dummies ''For Dummies'' is an extensive series of instructional reference books which are intended to present non-intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered. The series has been a worldwide success with editions in numerous lang ...

'' brand, 25 digital games, the annual ''USA Today Crossword Calendar'', and the syndicated Family Time Crossword. In 2014, Parker co-wrote ''The Book of Revelation Made Clear'' with the co-creator of the ''

Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise that started with a series of 16 bestselling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It focuses on a seven-year conflict between the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, a ...

'' series,

Tim LaHaye Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian Minister of religion, minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the ''Left Behind (series), Left Behind ...

. In 2016, Parker wrote ''Bible Brilliant'', a Bible trivia book published through Baker publishing.

Awards and recognition

In May 2000, Parker said he was named "World's Most Syndicated Puzzle Compiler" by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Timothy 1960 births Living people Gilman School alumni People from Baltimore People involved in plagiarism controversies Puzzle designers