The longest-running puzzle features a wide-ranging collection that has been continuously popular with puzzle solvers.
There is a person behind the puzzles – it’s Canadian Janice Witham who creates Janric Classic Sudoku. Having developed her own method of compiling Sudoku puzzles, Janice considers puzzle compiling a craft rather than a job. Future plans include exploring interactive formats and puzzle booklets available online.
Janice began her writing career as a copywriter for radio stations. Her love of writing led her to begin writing articles for magazines, including a series of travel pieces while traveling across Australia.
Upon her return to Canada after the year-long working holiday in Australia (where, incidentally, she met her future husband), Janice continued to write on a freelance basis and also began compiling Wordfind puzzles.
“I found the challenge of compiling puzzles much more interesting than solving them, even though the first few took hours to get right!” Today she has compiled over 1000 Wordfinds. When she first saw a Sudoku puzzle Janice says, “This puzzle intrigued me – a number puzzle that required logic rather than mathematical skill.”
Janice has established a long-term relationship with Auspac Media in Australia. To date Janice’s word puzzles have appeared in newspapers across Australia, and international publications spanning the globe from Dubai to London and from North America to South Africa.
In February 2005 Janice’s book, Black Box: David Warren and the creation of the cockpit voice recorder”, was published in Australia and officially launched at the Melbourne International Air Show. Black Box is the dramatic true story of the Melbourne scientist who conceived and developed one of aviation’s most important safety devices.
After 20 years living in Australia, Janice has returned to Canada with her husband Ric, and their two daughters. In her spare time Janice loves to relax with family and friends, take long walks with her ipod, play piano, practice yoga and travel.