A 2026 Non-Obvious Holiday Gift Guide · Thursday, October 29
Best Books for Writing Better & Faster
For anyone trying to improve their writing without just letting AI take over.
The Twelve Books
Books for Writing Better & Faster
Everybody Writes
by Ann Handley
More than a decade old, this guide from marketer and writer Ann Handley stands the test of time and remains a super useful guide to help anyone not just write better, but create better stories too.
About the author. Ann Handley is Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs and a Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She also co-wrote Content Rules and writes the Total Annarchy newsletter.
Writing to Persuade
by Trish Hall
Longtime New York Times op-ed editor Trish Hall has seen more pitches on more topics than most people. In this book she breaks down exactly how world changing ideas unfold, and how they are written.
About the author. Trish Hall spent years as an op-ed editor at The New York Times, where she also oversaw the Sunday Review, and is the author of Writing to Persuade.
Smart Brevity
by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz
A step by step useful guide for writing messages people actually read, built on tight structure and ruthless editing. Useful for anyone who sends too many emails or uses too much AI.
About the author. Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz co-founded Axios. VandeHei and Allen also co-founded Politico, and Schwartz ran revenue there before launching Axios’s workplace communications software business.
Dear Writer
by Maggie Smith
Poet Maggie Smith offers short, encouraging letters of advice on starting, persisting and finishing creative work, a thoughtful gift for any writer hoping to bring their big idea to life.
About the author. Maggie Smith is a poet whose poem “Good Bones” went viral, and the author of Keep Moving, You Could Make This Place Beautiful and several poetry collections.
Good Writing
by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott
A tight useful guide combining writing rules with short essays to illustrate why they work. A practical read to help anyone write better by improving one habit at a time.
About the author. Neal Allen is a writer and spiritual coach. Anne Lamott is the bestselling author of Bird by Bird and many novels and memoirs, and she is Allen’s wife.
Story Telling
by Isabel Allende
Legendary writer Isabel Allende reflects on nearly fifty years of writing, blending memoir with insight into her creative process to inspire any writer who has been impacted by her lifetime of work.
About the author. Isabel Allende is the Chilean-American author of The House of the Spirits and more than twenty other books, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
Build a Better Business Book
by Josh Bernoff
Longtime business editor and author Josh Bernoff offers a step-by-step guide to planning, writing and publishing a business book that readers actually finish. Filled with advice from someone who has actually done it himself.
About the author. Josh Bernoff is a former Forrester Research analyst who co-wrote Groundswell and wrote Writing Without Bullshit. He coaches business authors on writing and publishing their books.
Prompting Originality
by Norty Cohen
For anyone hoping to improve the way they leverage AI for writing, this handbook illustrates how to use AI as a creative partner rather than a replacement, while making sure everything you do is human and original.
About the author. Norty Cohen is founder and CEO of the agency Moosylvania and the author of The Participation Game and Join the Brand.
Junior
by Thomas Kemeny
You don't have to have a background in advertising to appreciate this irreverent and genuinely useful guide to writing persuasively and how writing can be your superpower to get ahead at work too.
About the author. Thomas Kemeny is a copywriter who started as an intern at Crispin Porter + Bogusky and worked at Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Mother New York. His work has won Cannes Lions.
Save the Cat!
by Blake Snyder
Blake Snyder’s screenwriting guide has become a go-to reference for aspiring screenwriters by breaking stories into beats that Hollywood scripts tend to follow. The techniques are applicable for anyone, whether you're working on a screenplay or just trying to write better stories.
About the author. Blake Snyder was a Hollywood screenwriter who sold scripts including Blank Check and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, and wrote the Save the Cat! books on story structure before his death in 2009.
Everybody Needs an Editor
by Melissa Harris
A plain-spoken guide to clear, effective writing, built on editing lessons from newsrooms and business. The most useful book for making the second draft much better.
About the author. Melissa Harris is founder and CEO of M. Harris & Co., a Chicago marketing agency, and spent fifteen years as a journalist at the Orlando Sentinel, Baltimore Sun, and Chicago Tribune.
Competing on Thought Leadership
by Robert Buday
A practical guide for anyone writing for a B2B audience on how to turn their expertise into revenue through thought leadership, drawing on the author’s decades of client work.
About the author. Robert Buday has worked in thought leadership since 1987, starting at CSC Index, and runs Buday Thought Leadership Partners. His clients have included Deloitte, Microsoft and Tata Consultancy Services.
Prefer A Mystery?
Future Words Secret Gift Box
Ssshhh! If you’re ok with a secret and love surprises, this box is for you!*
Join The Waitlist*Available first come first serve. May include free sample products from partners, bonus notebook, non-obvious goodies, mystery books from author friends and lots more. US mailing addresses only.
Buy It Local
Every book in these guides can be ordered by your local independent bookstore.
- Find your nearest indie bookstore.
- Ask for the title by name. Booksellers can order almost anything.
- Tag your local bookstore and tell us which guide sent you.
Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday is November 28, 2026. It is a good day to pick up a few books from the shop around the corner.
A Note From Rohit
How These Books Were Selected
Every book in these guides was chosen by me, from my own bookshelf. As an avid reader and the host of the Non-Obvious Book Awards, I see a lot of books every year. These gift guides compile my absolute favorites.
- Readability. Every book offers a great reading experience.
- Originality. All titles are “non-obvious” and thoughtful.
- Giftability. The packaging and design must be impressive as a gift.
- Award Winners. Many books are past selections of the Non-Obvious Book Awards.
All books in this guide were hand selected and read by a human. AI was not used in the book selections.
Coming December 1
The 2026 Non-Obvious Book Awards winners are announced December 1.
Many books in these guides are past winners, shortlisted titles and longlisted titles from the awards. See the full list of past selections.
Explore The Book Awards
The 2025 winners
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