March 27, 2001
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At the beginning of March, I announced a competition to name the new Bright Weavings newsletter. A flurry of emails later, and I have a winner, and a name. Well, actually, I have 3 winners!

There were some lovely suggestions, and some funny suggestions. Thank you all for participating! I was looking for something that wasn't book specific, and that melded well with the name of the site, and I think the winning entry fulfills those criterion well. But before I announce the winner, some honourable mentions:

Jojo suggested 'The Wandering Fire' "because that is what I always think of when I see something in writing that I hope makes it's way to the people who need most to read it. When I'd be whining to my mentor about not being able to decide which "form" to use (story, essay, poem, article) to write what was burning inside me, he'd say use "whatever carries the fire the farthest." And then he gave me the first fantasy books i'd ever read, the Fionavar Tapestry. All three about honoring your gifts, no matter how much it costs you, and carrying the fire the farthest."

Suzanne Lewis suggested another very interesting name: "I have an old stitching book which references the 'Trellis' Stitch. This is a rather easy embroidery/tapestry technique of creating designs and pictures by weaving stiches in and out to create knots. These knots create a raised texture giving "life" and to the desired design. Interestingly enough the word 'trellis' can also be used to indicate a network, webwork, tissue, meshing, etc. I thought since you would be sending out a newsletter through the internet the subtle variations of 'trellis' along with its weaving connotation might be interesting for you to try in some context or form."

Some of the other entries included: The Joglar, Riselka, Dualuna, The Loom, Loose Threads and The Eltor Express.

But now to business - the winning entry. The new name of the Bright Weavings newsletter is...(drumroll please)... Warp and Weft.

I liked Warp and Weft immediately I heard it, and GGK concurred. It sounds good, continues the weaving theme of the site title, and is reminiscent of the warp and weft of Fionavar's worldloom, but like the site title is wider in its application than the trilogy. My instinct that this would be a good title was confirmed by the fact that three people suggested it!

So, the following people are the winners:

Brian Gilstrap
Sharon Casteel
Sean Murphy

Thank you for giving us the newsletter title! If you could please email me with your addresses, your prizes - Martin Springett's beautiful Galadan poster and a set of his Fionavar bookmarks - will be sent to you soon.

And one final thing... Thunderchild suggested Pigeon Three, which we enjoyed so much we decided to award it a bonus GGK prize for funniest entry. So Thunderchild, send me your address (with real name please!), and a prize (yet to be determined) will be wending its way to you too.

That's it from me for now, but in the next few days, look out for a press release announcing the identity of the artists who've created the covers for the new trade paperback release of The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy in the U.S...

Till then,

Deborah