5 Great Gifts for a Writer

If you have a writer in your life, you may struggle to choose a gift that pleases. It doesn’t take long before most writers have an abundance of books or DVDs on the craft, journals for noting character descriptions of passersby, mugs with author quotes (though my Jane Austen mug is a favorite), and writer refrigerator magnets. They will have already subscribed to The Writer Magazine and downloaded Scrivner to the hard drive.

So what other writerly gifts would be fun to buy and fun to receive?

Here is my Countdown for 5 Great Writer Gifts:

#5. The Perfect Pen to use at book signings.

Ready to sign my Author Page for Abingdon’s 2014 Fall Fiction Sampler.

You laugh. “Pshaw!” you say. But I say it’s a great gift. Some years ago, a fellow writer gave me a couple pens at our Quills of Faith Writers Group Christmas party. Those pens are the only ones I ever use to sign books because:

• They have a cushioned grip so my hand won’t tire after signing dozens and dozens of books. Okay, it hasn’t been a problem yet because I haven’t had that long line of fans spilling out the store and around the corner. But I’m prepared, by golly.
• The ink doesn’t bleed through the book page or leak all over my hands.
• And most importantly, when I received the pens, signing my own book was still a dream. That little gift told me someone else believed I would get there and I felt encouraged. (Thank you, Ed Reinagel.)
  

  Bard Cookie Cutter

#4. Literary Cookie Cutters. Your writer can whip up a batch of cookies featuring the profiles of our dear Jane Austen (I need that cutter to compliment my mug), the Mad Hatter, Harry Potter’s glasses, an open book or bookworm, Clifford the dog, and more. Ideal for any literary event. Check out the Bard cookie cutter shown right (William Shakespeare) on Etsy.

Hobbit Tea

#3. Seems like we need some tea to go with those cookies, eh? How about some Hobbit Tea (left) for the Tolkien fan in your world? I  bought both the Gandalf the Grey Green Tea and Bilbo Baggins Breakfast blend. Rave reviews from two LOTR devotees when they received my gift. Unusual and tasty, too!

Amazon’s Steampunk Phone Cover

#2. Steampunk Typewriter Phone Cover (right.) I really want this, even though I’ll have to figure out how to pry the present cover off my phone. They seem pretty bonded. But, what a way to remember you are a writer every time you use the phone. And remind your friends.

And a drum roll, please…..

#1. Typewriter Key Jewelry!! Oh, yeah. Best gift ever! If you like Steampunk, if you like vintage, and if your gift target is a writer, you’ll like this. Each piece is handcrafted using authentic, vintage typewriter and cash register keys from 1900-1940s. The keys are recycled from non-working typewriters, only.

I recently bought a fabulous bracelet from The Magic Closet with designs by Gail Selby. Mine spells out WRITER using various colored keys and silver-plate backings. Check out the picture below. Looks right at home on my computer. Great weight to it, nicely crafted.

Typewriter Key Bracelet

In the bracelet category, there others that spell out EDITOR, I * WRITE, AUTHOR, and more. Each is unique; no two are alike.

(Did I just repeat myself?)

Worried about your sales numbers? Teaching your baby to count? Forgot the date of your wedding anniversary? Gail has number bracelets that will do the job. (And she can do custom orders.) There are earrings as well, and handsome cuff links for the fellas in your writer sphere.

Don’t mean to give a one-woman sales pitch for The Magic Closet. Or…maybe I do? I’ve seen Gail Selby’s work and am ordering again. Today! However, there are other artisians on eBay or Etsy who have different designs you might enjoy. Take a look.

Just type “Typewriter Key Jewelry” in the subject line and start shopping!