All the puzzles formerly on these pages are now available, in book form, from Amazon.com under the title “Acrostica” volumes I–IV, along with new ones in volumes V through VII. In addition, many are available to solve on mobile devices, from Egghead Games, which also sells puzzles from The Puzzle Baron and Cyn Morris among others. Find the “Acrostics” app by Egghead Games in your favorite App Store.
Back in the day (okay, 2014), when I decided to publish my puzzles in book form, there were very few acrostic puzzle books available to be purchased from online booksellers, and no new ones in sight. Brick-and-mortar stores had stopped selling acrostic puzzle books nearly a decade previously (and many brick-and-mortar bookstores had already disappeared). I was convinced there was still a market out there, as this Acrostica website was getting plenty of visitors (and not just from people looking for ‘answers’ for Jeopardy! shows). Just as I was preparing to put my puzzles into a book I got a query from Cyn Morris about how she could format her puzzles for publication. As a result, my Acrostica volumes and her various acrostic puzzle books came out soon after. In the years since, other puzzle authors have also started publishing their efforts, and acrostic puzzle books have made a comeback.
Writing acrostic puzzles is generally more difficult than writing crossword puzzles and usually more difficult to solve, but I find them much more rewarding both to compose and solve. I intend to continue writing them. The company I started to publish my puzzles, Pocamug Press, is beginning to publish other books as well: poetry, fiction, art books, and memoir. Check it out!
Thank you to everyone who enjoyed working the puzzles once posted here!
Michael H. Dickman
New Year’s Eve 2017
Update, December 2019: In addition to the Enlarged Print Edition of Volume I, and Acrostica volumes 1–7, Pocamug Press has also published a volume of double-length acrostic puzzles titled “AcrostiThon!”.