Mark Saltveit

Mark Saltveit (born 1961) is a Vermont-based stand-up comedian, palindromist and writer, known for being the first World Palindrome Champion. In his 20s, he began composing lengthy palindromes of his own. His first ("Resoled in Saratoga, riveting in a wide wale suit, I use law, Ed. I, wan, ignite virago, tar a snide loser.") is remarkable for its length, but took only a matter of hours to compose.

On March 16, 2012, Saltveit won the first-ever World Palindrome Championship. The contest, held in Brooklyn before a live audience of 700, was organized by enigmatologist Will Shortz. Saltveit's winning entries beat out those of the six other contestants, including cartoonist Jon Agee and biostatistics professor John Connett. The filmmaker, Vince Clemente, planned to produce a feature-length version covering Saltveit's and his fellow contestants' preparations for the World Palindrome Championship in 2017.