Stuck on gift ideas for what to get that special reader or writer in your life? The holidays are right around the corner and you know you want to get them something other than just another book, notebook, or gift card to a bookstore. So what do you get them? Stick around because today I’m sharing with you 10 gift ideas for readers and writers. I’ll have 5 gift ideas for readers and 5 gift ideas for writers.

Gift Ideas For Readers

Book Subscription Box

First on this list is a subscription book box. Now, while a book box does include a book inside it (hence the name), most book boxes have a monthly theme and several fun, bookish items inside the box that relate to that month’s theme.

This can include stuff like literary candles, mugs, tote bags, literary jewelry, bookmarks, and more. The items inside are usually a surprise, so getting and opening a book box can feel like opening a present on Christmas morning.

There are many book boxes to choose from, ranging in all different genres and age categories. So whether your reader is just starting out or has been reading for many years, there’s something for everyone. It’s a perfect gift for the holidays.

Subscription Service

Number two on this list is a subscription service. If the reader in your life uses things like Audible, Scribd, or Kindle Unlimited you can pay for their subscription service for whatever length of time you want. Some services, like Audible, allow you to give someone a gift subscription for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months.

Bookish or Literary Merchandise

Next on the list is bookish or literary merchandise. Now this is a very broad and general category and can include many things. In fact, I can probably do an entire blog post with gift ideas based on just this category, but I won’t cause there are plenty of others that do that already.

Just know that there are a ton of literary merchandise you can get as gifts, from bookish apparel (like socks, scarves, & shirts) to literary home decor, jewelry, candles, book sleeves, and even matching book jackets for an entire series.

You can even find great literary Christmas ornaments like these on Etsy. Perfect for the holidays.

There’s so much great, unique literary merchandise out there, you just got to look. Etsy is a great place to find some of these. If you’re looking for bookish shirts, hoodies, mugs, or tote bags, then you should also check out my shop: Novel Creations.

Literary Events

Most book lovers love to attend events such as bookcon (like comicon but with books and authors), YA’ll Fest, or other local literary events. Now a lot of these events were canceled or rescheduled this year because of Covid. Hopefully, if nothing terrible happens next year (God willing), we’ll be able to have these events again in person.

Some of these events can be on the pricier side, especially if you have to travel out of state for it. This makes getting event tickets a great gift for the book lover in your life.

Book Basket

The last gift idea on this list for readers is a book basket. Now this is similar to a book box, but instead of buying it already made, you would be the one creating and putting this together so you can make it highly personalized.

All you have to do is get a cute basket and fill it with lots of fun, bookish goodies for the reader in your life. You can put some different literary merchandise in it like I talked about earlier, such as socks & scarves, a mug or candle, literary jewelry, etc.

You can also include their favorite snacks or drinks in there. If there’s a certain tea or coffee they like to drink while reading, you can put that in there too.

Also, if their favorite book has been adapted into a movie, you could include the DVD of the movie in the basket as well (provided they liked the adaptation). A book basket is a great gift, especially if you want to customize the stuff inside.

Gift Ideas for Writers

Products or Professional Services

Now let’s talk about some gift ideas for writers. Some of these ideas are more on the practical side, especially if they are a self-published author, but there are a couple fun ones too.

My first idea for a gift for writers is to offer to pay for a product or service they may need. This could be a writing software such as Scrivener or Ulysses, or a formatting program such as Vellum. This could also be services to professionals they may need, such as an editor or cover designer.

If they plan to self-publish, then all these products and services can add up to quite a bit. It’s always helpful to have someone offer to take one of these things off their plate. At least it is for me.

Online Courses

My next gift idea is to get them a subscription to online courses or even a specific online course. For example, Skillshare and Masterclass are two sites that have tons and tons of online courses.

On Masterclass you’ll find a lot of writing courses by well-known authors. You can also find courses in many other topics & industries that might be of interest. Skillshare also offers writing courses and classes in other topics such productivity, how to build your author platform, marketing, and more. A subscription to any of these sites would be a wonderful gift.

However, if you want to get more specific, then I’d recommend Sara Cannon’s Publish & Thrive course. I believe she offers this course twice a year. Trust me when I say this course was amazing.

I highly recommend this course for anyone wanting to self-publish. It’s full of lots of great helpful information and resources.

Writer Conferences & Events

So just like you can get readers tickets to literary events, you can also get writers tickets to conferences and writer events. These can be local or national. Again, some of these events can be pricey, so I’m sure any writer will appreciate this. Bonus is they can make new writer friends while they’re there.

Writerly Merchandise

Similar to what I mentioned earlier for readers, this is writerly merchandise. These can be apparel, totes, mugs, notebooks, or anything related to writing or writers.

Etsy is a great place to find these items, as well as my store: Novel Creations. I make designs for both readers and writers, so check them out.

Writer Subscription Box or Basket

My last gift idea for writers is a writer subscription box or a writer basket. Unlike book subscription boxes, there’s not as many writer boxes out there. The most commonly known one is Scribbler.

You can get them a subscription to a writer box, like Scribbler, or you can create your own writer basket. Again, this way it’s highly customizable and you can include lots of writer goodies that you find on Etsy or on Novel Creations.

There you have it! My 10 gift ideas for readers and writers. If you have any other ideas you’d like to share, leave them in a comment below, I’d love to know. Also, let me know in the comments below what gift idea on this list would you be most interested in.

Until next time,

Happy reading and writing!