My name is Elizabeth Lunday, and I’m a writer.
What can I write for you?
Rite of Spring advances to second round at Austin Film Festival
I was uncertain if I wanted to attend the Austin Film Festival screenwriting conference–I kinda wanted to go, but you know, there will be people there and people are, frankly, a lot. But I advanced to the second round in the Drama category. So I’m going, people or no!
APPA: Report predicts challenges and opportunities of higher education in 2030
The final APPA Thought Leaders report for 2024 was recently released. This is always a satisfying day, the result of several months of work. This year, 30 higher education experts met in Alexandria, Virginia to discuss the the future of college and university campuses in 2030.
Fort Worth Botanic Garden: Embrace the philosophy of Japanese gardening
For the October issue of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden newsletter, I talked to Nick Esthus, the horticultural manager of the Japanese Garden, about the philosophy behind this remarkable space. He also discussed how to apply these principles at home, saying: “The goal is to create a beautiful space that exists in harmony with the surrounding architecture and landscape.”
Fort Worth Botanic Garden: Enjoy strawberry shortcake, guacamole, chocolate and coffee? Thank a pollinator!
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden celebrates butterflies every spring with the annual Butterflies in the Garden event. For the March newsletter, I wrote about the
Why a puffin?
I always assumed the name Lunday was derived from the French word lundi, the first day of the week.
But I recently learned Old Norse also had a word lundi—and it meant “puffin.” It makes sense for our family name to derive from Old Norse, since Lunday (or Lundy—presumably distant cousins, although we Lundays firmly believe they spell their name wrong) is a name found in Ireland and Scotland. Ireland and Scotland, of course, were settled by Vikings.
As I am also short and generally globular, I feel a certain affinity for puffins. They are hardy, curious birds, and their babies are called pufflings, which is adorable.
So why not a puffin? It’s certainly more interesting than the typical writer graphic of a typewriter or a fountain pen, two instruments I never use!
