Gift Suggestions for Writers

Forget the scented candles and picture frames! Go for the literary goodies...

Greetings fellow literary travelers—

Maren Curtis, an indie screenwriter and producer I met through the film- and TV-writer mentoring organization CineStory, recently suggested I assemble a post with gift suggestions for writers. Below are a dozen ideas that range from experiential to material gifts. 🎁

1. An artists residency at Dorland Mountain Arts. This retreat center near Temecula, California (100 miles south of L.A.), offers year-round, 1 - 4 week-long residencies. Writers, musicians, and artists can apply to be a resident. Once your application is approved, you have the option to book one of five different cottages (sometimes a cottage is available on short notice but some are booked well in advance). Rates are reasonable for those who’d like to treat the writers in their lives.

Dorland Mountain Arts, Temecula, CA

2. A book club Zoom with a favorite author. Many authors are happy to do Zooms, often gratis, and can be contacted through their websites or publishers or via their Substacks (for example, fellow Substacker and novelist, Sarah Tomlinson, author of the mystery The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers and Good Girl, a memoir. Sarah has also ghostwritten many books, including several New York Times best sellers).

3. Professional editing/notes. If your friend or family member has expressed to you a need for notes on a manuscript or proofreading by a professional, here are several suggestions:

Mike Levine (prose, stage plays, poetry)—former acquisitions editor at Northwestern University Press (while at the press, he acquired Jen Beagin’s first novel, Pretend I’m Dead—later reissued by Scribner)

Patricia Verducci (feature and TV pilot scripts)—filmmaker and faculty at UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television

Angela Pneuman (prose)—award-winning author of Home Remedies (stories) and Lay It on My Heart (novel), director of Napa Valley Writers Conference, Stanford Continuing Studies faculty—contact: angelapneuman@yahoo.com

Roxanne Beck Raye (proofreader/copy editor for prose, scripts, stageplays)—screenwriter—pilots and features, author of children’s book Caterpillarland—contact: roxannebeck1@gmail.com

Heidi Pitlor (range of editing, consulting, & coaching services)—novelist and former Best American Short Stories series editor, head of Heidi Pitlor Editorial LLC

(Credit: freestocks on Unsplash)

4. A massage. Hot stone, shiatsu, deep tissue, aromatherapy—all those hours at the desk take a toll. One national chain, Massage Envy, has some good massage therapists on staff, but the quality doubtless varies from franchise to franchise. You might look for a locally owned business via Yelp or consult the hive mind for recommendations if you have a Facebook or Bluesky account.

5. Book cover design. I highly recommend Gigi Little, a gifted artist and book cover creator. You can find many of her designs on her website landing page.

6. A writing class. StoryStudio Chicago offers online and in-person classes; Gotham Writers Workshop is another possibility—based in NYC, but some classes are offered online. Stanford Continuing Studies has an extensive offering of quarterly creative writing classes. (My 10-week online winter quarter course, “Novel Workshop: Breaking Ground,” still has some spaces available.) Bookends & Beginnings, an indie bookstore in Evanston, IL, has a relatively new education arm, Bookends University. I’ve taught an online class for them on preparing your work for publication and they offer creative writing classes (the new schedule should be up soon).

7. Housecleaning. Bring in a professional to dust and organize those woefully neglected bookshelves. Here in Los Angeles, a writer friend recommends TIDY. Thumbtack can match you with cleaners listed in their database if you enter your zip code.

8. A gift card to your local independent bookstore

9. A one-of-a-kind writing retreat in Bordeaux, France with me—still a few spots left—May 18-24, 2025, hosted by Foreword Retreats! Registration deadline is January 10, 2025.

Château Borgeat de la Grange, retreat location

10. Books published by independent presses. The titles mentioned below are forthcoming, author interviews in the works: Zeeva Bukai’s novel The Anatomy of Exile (Delphinium Books, Jan. 2025), Kurt Baumeister’s novel Twilight of the Gods (Stalking Horse Press, March 2025), Richard Babcock’s novel A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon (Pact Press/Regal House Publishing, July 2025).

11. A gift subscription to a Substack newsletter you admire. (Bookish subs are 30% of this month).

12. A gift subscription to a literary journal. A few to consider: New England Review, Story, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, North American Review, Beloit Fiction Journal.

Happy holidays and thank you for being here. 🌲 📗 🎁