diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b0be7393..8be37e11 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ parse, it returns the time unaltered. See `time.ParseDuration` for info on durat
   "one anchovy" "many anchovies"`
 - uuidv4: Generate a UUID v4 string
 - sha256sum: Generate a hex encoded sha256 hash of the input
+- toString: Convert something to a string
 
 ### String Slice Functions:
 
@@ -117,6 +118,8 @@ parse, it returns the time unaltered. See `time.ParseDuration` for info on durat
   Use it like this: `{{$v := "foo/bar/baz" | split "/"}}{{$v._0}}` (Prints `foo`)
 - splitList: strings.Split, but as `split SEP STRING`. The results are returned
   as an array.
+- toStrings: convert a list to a list of strings. 'list 1 2 3 | toStrings' produces '["1" "2" "3"]'
+- sortAlpha: sort a list lexicographically.
 
 ### Integer Slice Functions:
 
diff --git a/functions.go b/functions.go
index 95a74ffa..bfb9966f 100644
--- a/functions.go
+++ b/functions.go
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ String Functions
 	- replace: Replace an old with a new in a string: `$name | replace " " "-"`
 	- plural: Choose singular or plural based on length: `len $fish | plural "one anchovy" "many anchovies"`
 	- sha256sum: Generate a hex encoded sha256 hash of the input
+	- toString: Convert something to a string
 
 String Slice Functions:
 
@@ -69,6 +70,8 @@ String Slice Functions:
 	  Use it like this: `{{$v := "foo/bar/baz" | split "/"}}{{$v._0}}` (Prints `foo`)
     - splitList: strings.Split, but as `split SEP STRING`. The results are returned
 	  as an array.
+	- toStrings: convert a list to a list of strings. 'list 1 2 3 | toStrings' produces '["1" "2" "3"]'
+	- sortAlpha: sort a list lexicographically.
 
 Integer Slice Functions:
 
@@ -211,6 +214,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"reflect"
+	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	ttemplate "text/template"
@@ -336,6 +340,7 @@ var genericMap = map[string]interface{}{
 	"replace":   replace,
 	"plural":    plural,
 	"sha256sum": sha256sum,
+	"toString":  strval,
 
 	// Wrap Atoi to stop errors.
 	"atoi":    func(a string) int { i, _ := strconv.Atoi(a); return i },
@@ -351,6 +356,7 @@ var genericMap = map[string]interface{}{
 	// split "/" foo/bar returns map[int]string{0: foo, 1: bar}
 	"split":     split,
 	"splitList": func(sep, orig string) []string { return strings.Split(orig, sep) },
+	"toStrings": strslice,
 
 	"until":     until,
 	"untilStep": untilStep,
@@ -380,7 +386,8 @@ var genericMap = map[string]interface{}{
 
 	// string slices. Note that we reverse the order b/c that's better
 	// for template processing.
-	"join": join,
+	"join":      join,
+	"sortAlpha": sortAlpha,
 
 	// Defaults
 	"default": dfault,
@@ -754,17 +761,27 @@ func dict(v ...interface{}) map[string]interface{} {
 }
 
 func join(sep string, v interface{}) string {
-	// The first two cases bypass the overhead of the reflection system.
+	return strings.Join(strslice(v), sep)
+}
+
+func sortAlpha(array []interface{}) []string {
+	a := strslice(array)
+	s := sort.StringSlice(a)
+	s.Sort()
+	return s
+}
+
+func strslice(v interface{}) []string {
 	switch v := v.(type) {
 	case []string:
-		return strings.Join(v, sep)
+		return v
 	case []interface{}:
 		l := len(v)
 		b := make([]string, l)
 		for i := 0; i < l; i++ {
 			b[i] = strval(v[i])
 		}
-		return strings.Join(b, sep)
+		return b
 	default:
 		val := reflect.ValueOf(v)
 		switch val.Kind() {
@@ -774,9 +791,9 @@ func join(sep string, v interface{}) string {
 			for i := 0; i < l; i++ {
 				b[i] = strval(val.Index(i).Interface())
 			}
-			return strings.Join(b, sep)
+			return b
 		default:
-			return strval(v)
+			return []string{strval(v)}
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/functions_test.go b/functions_test.go
index a08fc0fb..019f1975 100644
--- a/functions_test.go
+++ b/functions_test.go
@@ -304,6 +304,16 @@ func TestSplit(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestToString(t *testing.T) {
+	tpl := `{{ toString 1 | kindOf }}`
+	assert.NoError(t, runt(tpl, "string"))
+}
+
+func TestToStrings(t *testing.T) {
+	tpl := `{{ $s := list 1 2 3 | toStrings }}{{ index $s 1 | kindOf }}`
+	assert.NoError(t, runt(tpl, "string"))
+}
+
 type fixtureTO struct {
 	Name, Value string
 }
@@ -698,6 +708,17 @@ func TestJoin(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NoError(t, runtv(`{{ join "-" .V }}`, "1-2-3", map[string]interface{}{"V": []int{1, 2, 3}}))
 }
 
+func TestSortAlpha(t *testing.T) {
+	// Named `append` in the function map
+	tests := map[string]string{
+		`{{ list "c" "a" "b" | sortAlpha | join "" }}`: "abc",
+		`{{ list 2 1 4 3 | sortAlpha | join "" }}`:     "1234",
+	}
+	for tpl, expect := range tests {
+		assert.NoError(t, runt(tpl, expect))
+	}
+}
+
 func TestDelete(t *testing.T) {
 	fmap := TxtFuncMap()
 	delete(fmap, "split")