Remember when computers were supposed to help us get more work done? Somewhere along the way, they became very good at helping us do everything except the work we sat down to do. Which is probably why a growing number of writers are willingly spending money on devices that are less computer and more typewriter.
The latest entrant to this wonderfully niche category is the Auteur E-Ink Typewriter. Like the Zerowriter before it, the Auteur is built around a simple idea: if your writing machine cannot open YouTube, social media, email, or whatever rabbit hole the internet has prepared for you today, you may actually finish that chapter.
The device pairs a 6-inch e-ink display with a hot-swappable 60% mechanical keyboard featuring Kailh switches and double-shot PBT keycaps. The screen is designed to resemble a printed page, complete with custom typography, generous margins, and selectable text sizes. There is even a dark mode for writers who do their best work after the rest of the world has gone to sleep.
One of the most impressive claims is zero perceptible typing lag. If true, that would be quite an achievement, considering e-ink displays are not exactly known for withstanding enthusiastic fingers.
For screenwriters, the Auteur supports Fountain markup and automatically formats dialogue, scene headings, parentheticals, and transitions as you type. Novelists, meanwhile, get a distraction-free canvas with nothing competing for their attention.
The entire machine weighs 1.36 kg (3 lbs), runs for over six hours on a rechargeable battery, and stores drafts internally before exporting them via USB-C as TXT, Markdown, or Fountain files.
The Auteur may not replace your laptop, but that is rather the point. It exists for those moments when the biggest obstacle between you and finishing a chapter is the internet. Or YouTube. Or Reddit. Or, well, everything else.
The Auteur Writer will be crowdfunded on Crowd Supply soon. In the meantime, you can learn more on Crowd Supply, as well as on the product’s website.
Images: Auteur.
