10 Great Gifts for International Writers

At the first mention of Christmas, Writer Abroad gets so hyper and determined that she regresses, oh, about 27 years. To give a little order to her madness, she’s complied a list of gifts that are perfect for the international writer in your life (hint, hint).

One: iPod Touch

Make calls on Skype. Download Swiss train timetables. Record interviews. This little gift just keeps on giving—wherever you are in the world.

Two: Noise cancelling headphones

Concentrate on long-haul flights. Concentrate at an ad agency. Or just live in a little English bubble.

Three: Airline miles

Got a lot of miles piling up and don’t know what to do with them? Now you do.

Four: Book Depository Gift Certificate

Free shipping, worldwide. This means a writer abroad can divide big orders into smaller ones to avoid customs charges without having to pay more for shipping. Oh, the things we think about.

Five: A taste of home

Kraft Mac & Cheese. Jif peanut butter. Duncan Hines brownie mix. Need I say more?

Six: Magazine subscription

When your phone bill, local newspaper, and bank statement are all in German, an English magazine in your mailbox is like Christmas.

Seven: AvantGuild Membership

MediaBistro is a useful site for many writers abroad. With an AvantGuild membership, they can gain access to exclusive content like how to pitch articles and discounts on online classes.

Eight: Online Writing Class

Give a gift where English is a given: on the Internet.

Nine: Skype Credit

Get the writer in your life to stop writing and start talking. For about $30, your writer can call unlimited landlines or cell phones in the United States for an entire year. Including yours.

Ten: Moleskine Notebook

What writer doesn’t need one of these? You can even give them a City Notebook for their adopted home.

Ok writers, what do you want that I've forgotten?

International Writing Round-Up

It has been a few weeks since Writer Abroad collected a virtual goodie bag. So in honor of the giving season, here we go:

Swiss News, Switzerland’s National English Journal, is looking for experienced freelance journalists interested in writing about politics, finance, and news. You must be a native English speaker and have a valid Swiss work permit to apply.

Erika Dreifus publishes a newsletter for writers filled with submission alerts, upcoming writing contests, writing resources and more. To check out the latest issue, click here.

Alexis Grant founded a Travel Memoir Writers group over on Facebook to discuss triumphs, challenges, and questions writers have when writing travel memoir. You can request to join here.

If you write personal essays, MediaBistro recently updated their personal essay markets listing. You must be an AvantGuild member to read the content. Otherwise, you can check out my collection of paying personal essay markets here.

If you missed the Zurich Writers Workshop this fall, one of its instructors, University of Oxford Fiction Tutor Amal Chatterjee, has announced a spring writing workshop for poetry and fiction writers. It will be held in Amsterdam from April 15-17, 2011.