Notes from a Public Typewriter

Notes from a Public Typewriter is a collection of confessional, hilarious, and heartbreaking notes written anonymously on a public typewriter, perfect for fans of PostSecret and Other People's Love Letters.

When Michael Gustafson and his wife Hilary opened Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they put out a typewriter for anyone to use. They had no idea what to expect. Would people ask metaphysical questions? Write mean things? Pour their souls onto the page? Yes, no, and did they ever.

Every day, people of all ages sit down at the public typewriter. Children perch atop grandparents' knees, both sets of hands hovering above the metal keys - I LOVE YOU. Others walk in alone on Friday nights and confess their hopes - I will find someone someday. And some leave funny asides for the next person who sits down - I dislike people, misanthropes, irony, and ellipses... and lists too.

In Notes from a Public Typewriter, Michael and designer Oliver Uberti have combined their favourite notes with essays and photos to create an ode to community and the written word that will surprise, delight, and inspire.

"This is a delightfully quirky, heart-warming celebration of the 'messy, smudgy, imperfect beauty' of a past analogue era of ink, paper and mechanical keys." - PD Smith, The Guardian

"This is a delightful, illustrated collection of the confessional, hilarious, and heartbreaking notes that were written anonymously on the typewriter by their customers ... It's an ode to community and a charming tribute to the safe space that is the independent bookshop." - The Bookseller

"Accompanied by essays and photographs, the book celebrates the joy of typewriters, with their 'click-clack' keys and the possibility for anyone to 'publish directly into the world in permanent ink - spelling errors and all.'" - The Simple Things