Perfect Gifts for Writers

Tis the season to ask the most pressing of all questions: What is the perfect gift for the writer in your life? Books? Pens? Journals? A six-figure book deal: (Note: we all want the latter!)

Authors Farzana Doctor, Taslim Jaffer, and Robert McGill weigh in on their best gift ideas for writers. (And pssst, they all have books out this year that would make WONDERFUL gifts!)

Farzana Doctor, author of the most recent YA novel, The Beauty of Us

I tell loved ones "Don't buy me books!", which seems like the opposite thing I should say. The truth is that writers often have a towering TBR pile already, and tend to have very specific reading needs (for example, I'm only reading satire in 2025 because I'm learning to write more "funny"). Instead, buy us time to read and write by purchasing our books as gifts for others.

Taslim Jaffer, co-editor of the anthology, Back Where I Came From: On Culture, Identity and Home

A huggle or an oodie is a wearable blanket that keeps hands free for the all-important tasks of holding a book or writing one! They are perfect for winter days or evenings, typing at your desk or curling up on the couch. I have to admit, I laughed when these first came out (a wearable blanket? Really?) but then I got one for Christmas last year. Pure comfort. 

As a writer and reader who needs peace and quiet to do either, I always appreciate the gift of space and time. If there’s someone like that in your life, they would probably appreciate a night or two at a local hotel or Airbnb. That could be a group gift to make it more affordable. Some cash with a note attached to spend it on a mini getaway would be a dream gift!

Robert McGill, author of the most recent short story collection, Simple Creatures

The writer Carolyn See has extolled the value of sending "charming notes" to authors in which you tell them that you enjoyed something they wrote. For the writer in your life this holiday season, consider levelling up and sending them a copy of their own book, essay, poem, etc. with annotations that you've made while reading (or rereading!) their work. The annotations don't need to be entirely points of praise; they could include notes about questions, thoughts, and feelings you had as you were reading. For the sake of the relationship, though, it's probably best to focus on the positive.

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Farzana Doctor is a Tkaronto-based author, activist and psychotherapist. She’s written four critically acclaimed lit-fic novels, Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement, All Inclusive, and Seven, a poetry collection, You Still Look The Same and a self- and community care workbook for helpers and activists, 52 Weeks to a Sweeter Life. The Beauty of Us, her first YA book, has just come out. 

Taslim Jaffer is a writer, editor and writing instructor from Surrey, B.C. with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from University of King’s College. She is co-editor of the anthology, Back Where I Came From: On Culture, Identity and Home (Bookhug*Press, 2024). Her work-in-progress explores cultural inheritance, identity and motherhood. 

Robert McGill's newest book is the short story collection Simple Creatures. He is also the author of three novels, most recently A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life, and two books of nonfiction. He teaches Creative Writing at the University of Toronto.