A 2016 Gift Guide for the Writer in Your Life

/ Annette Lyon

Writers are a curious breed. We know that. Heck, we embrace that.

Yet we know that our weirdness can make holiday gift-buying tricky for our loved ones. What exactly do you give someone who claims to be productive while staring out the window? By taking a nap? By reading books for research on disturbing subject matters? Whose internet search history could be easily tagged by the FBI because RESEARCH!

For all of the writers out there, feel free to pass this list along to your loved ones as a not-so-subtle hint of things they could get you for Christmas (and birthdays and other holidays) that you’d appreciate.

Bonus: As a writer, chances are, you’re friends with other writers, so maybe you’ll find something great for the members of your critique group.

Double bonus: Maybe you’ll find something to put on your wishlist to buy with a royalty check!

Book Love

Book Darts

Hate losing your place in a book, losing your bookmark, or resorting to a gum wrapper to mark your spot? (A pox on anyone who considers dog-earring a book. Don’t even think it.) These little metal darts are the perfect answer. They gently slide onto paper, marking not only the page but even a specific line if desired. I’ve used several in a single notebook to keep things like to-do lists and charts straight and easily findable. They’re also archival.

book-darts

They come in tins of 125 with one color, or on sleeves of 18 darts in mixed metals. They come in brass, gold, and stainless steel.

Order Book Darts HERE

Litographs

Get the text of your favorite piece of literature on a t-shirt, scarf, tote, or poster. They hae a ton of fun designs, from Shakespeare to Herman Melville, from Jane Austen to L. M. Montgomery.

Check them out; chances are, you’ll find something you or your fellow book-loving nerd has to have.

Marrying Mr. Darcy: The Card Game

A game. About Pride and Prejudice and marrying Mr. Darcy. Enough said.

Get the game on Amazon!

marry-mr-darcy

Book Bookends

No, that’s not a typo. These cool bookends look like stacks of actual old hardbacks. But they aren’t just pretty (although they’re that, too): they have hidden drawers in the horizontal books! Hide your chocolate stashes while holding up some of your (thousands of) books!

bookends

Get them HERE.

Writing Books

bird-by-bird

 

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

A must for any writer’s library.

Get it HERE.

 

 

on-writing

 

On Writing, by Stephen King

Okay, so that last one? It really is a great book, but THIS one? Even more important for a writer to have.

Really. Here it is.

 

 

Writing-Related Awesomeness

leather-journal

 

Notebooks

Get your writer a journal or notebook. I have never met a writer who didn’t love brainstorming, note-taking, doodling, to-do-listing, and more with notebooks.

You’ll find tons of styles out there, so you can definitely find one that reflects your writer’s personality, like THIS leather one.

 

mechanical-pencil-modern-fuel

Modern Fuel’s Aluminum Mechanical Pencil

This isn’t your standard pencil. It’s billed as the last mechanical pencil you’ll ever buy. It’s made to last, and it’s designed to look like a single piece of metal. And where the eraser usually goes? That’s a stylus.

Learn more HERE.

 

wireless-keyboard

 

Wireless, Waterproof Keyboard from Iwerkz

This keyboard folds up so it’s easy to slip into a bag at a conference or anywhere you’re on the go and might want to write on your tablet. Even better, it’s waterproof!

Check it out HERE.

book-necklace

 

Jewelry & Other Accessories

Etsy is a great place to look for unexpected themed gifts that your writer won’t expect or even know exist. Search for “Gifts for writers,” and you’ll get a plethora of choices from writing-themed earrings and necklaces, to literary bookmarks, to shirts, posters, and so much more in a variety of price ranges.

 

 

Simple But Welcome Gifts

Practical gifts often get a bad rap, but writers tend to adore practical things that help them make stories. To that end, a few ideas, many of which make great stocking stuffers:

And if you’re really stuck, you can’t go wrong with an Amazon gift card that your writer can use to buy books, books, books, and, well, books, or anything else they have their eyes on.

head-shot-annette-lyon-cropped

Annette Lyon is a USA Today bestselling author, a four-time Best of State medalist for fiction in Utah, and a Whitney Award winner. In addition, she has four Quill awards from the League of Utah Writers. She’s had success as a professional editor and is the author of over a dozen books, including the Whitney Award-winning Band of Sisters, a chocolate cookbook, and a grammar guide, and is a regular contributor to the Timeless Romance Anthology series, and she’s one of the four coauthors of the Newport Ladies Book Club series. Annette is represented by Heather Karpas at ICM Partners. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.