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How to Craft Book and Quill in Minecraft

Book and Quill in Minecraft, drawn from the game's own item texture. Writing and signing books. Minecraft has used the name Book and Quill since 1.3.1.

You need 1 Book, 1 Ink Sac, and 1 Feather, plus a Crafting Table to assemble them on. A single craft gives you 1 Book and Quill. Books and Quills do not stack, so each one takes an inventory slot of its own.

Book and Quill Item ID and Give Command

The item ID for Book and Quill is minecraft:writable_book. In commands the namespace may be left off, so writable_book works too. Checked against Minecraft Java 26.2.

Give yourself one
/give @p writable_book
Give several at once
/give @p writable_book 5
Give it to a named player
/give Steve writable_book 1

Cheats have to be on for Book and Quill to appear this way, and the same command works on Bedrock Edition, where the name is written the same.

Overview

A Book and Quill lets you write up to 100 pages of text. Sign it to create a Written Book that other players can read. Book and Quill uses a shapeless recipe, so the ingredients can go in any cells of the grid as long as all of them are present.

Minecraft has used the name Book and Quill since 1.3.1, the oldest release whose language file lists it.

The materials come together from a few sources: you will be working with book (craft from paper and leather), ink sac (kill squids), and feather (kill chickens).

The Yield Per Stack

1 book for 1 book and quill scales to 64 out of a 64 stack. On top of that: 64 feathers. Down to the last book, nothing spare.

Materials Needed

ItemAmountWhere to Find
BookBookBook1xCraft from paper and leather
Ink SacInk SacInk Sac1xKill squids
FeatherFeatherFeather1xKill chickens

To make Book and Quill you will gather Book (craft from paper and leather), Ink Sac (kill squids), and Feather (kill chickens), and craft them at a Crafting Table.

The Full Chain

Paper, then Book, then the Book and Quill. All in: 1 Ink Sac, 1 Feather, 1 Leather and 3 Sugar Cane.

  1. 1
    Sugar CaneSugar Cane3PaperPaper3Paper
  2. 2
    PaperPaper3LeatherLeatherBookBookBook
  3. 3
    Book and QuillBook and QuillBook and Quillthis page

Gather this first

Ink SacInk SacInk SacFeatherFeatherFeatherLeatherLeatherLeatherSugar CaneSugar Cane3Sugar Cane

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1

    BookBookBookInk SacInk SacInk SacFeatherFeatherFeather

  2. 2

    Book and Quill

Minecraft crafting recipe for Book and Quill: 1 x Book, 1 x Ink Sac, 1 x Feather in a crafting table, making 1 Book and Quill.

Tips & Notes

  • Because this one is shapeless, Book, Ink Sac, and Feather can go in any cells you like. The grid only checks that they are all present.
  • Line up 1x Book, 1x Ink Sac, and 1x Feather before you open the Crafting Table. Book: craft from paper and leather.

Uses for Book and Quill

  • Writing and signing books
  • Creating written books to share

View detailed item stats, durability and properties for Book and Quill on the Astroworld Items Database.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to craft a Book and Quill in Minecraft?
a Book and Quill asks for 1 Book, 1 Ink Sac and 1 Feather, and the work happens at a Crafting Table. Place them in the grid in any arrangement, and one craft produces one Book and Quill.
What do you need to make a Book and Quill from scratch?
Starting with nothing, a Book and Quill costs 1 Ink Sac, 1 Feather, 1 Leather and 3 Sugar Canes. Everything else in the recipe is something you craft on the way there, over 3 crafts in total.
Where do you find the materials for a Book and Quill?
Each ingredient in a Book and Quill has its own source. Book: craft from paper and leather. Ink Sac: kill squids. Feather: kill chickens.
How many Books and Quills do you get from one craft?
The Book and Quill recipe makes one Book and Quill per craft.
What is the item ID for Book and Quill in Minecraft?
In Java 26.2 the Book and Quill goes by minecraft:writable_book; writable_book without the namespace does the same job in a command.
Can you farm everything you need for a Book and Quill?
Book and Quill needs nothing you have to go find: book from paper, ink sac from squid, and feather from chickens you can breed. Set those up once and you can keep making book and quill.
What is the give command for Book and Quill?
Use /give @p writable_book to put a Book and Quill in your own inventory. Add a number on the end for more than one, and note that cheats have to be on.
Is the Book and Quill recipe the same in Java and Bedrock Edition?
It is the same recipe on both: 1 Book, 1 Ink Sac and 1 Feather at a Crafting Table gives you a Book and Quill, in the layout shown above, one at a time.
How many crafting steps does a Book and Quill take?
A Book and Quill takes 3 crafts once you count the parts: Paper and Book, and then the Book and Quill. The chain section above walks through them in order.
Does it matter where you put the ingredients for a Book and Quill?
No, a Book and Quill is a shapeless recipe, so 1 Book, 1 Ink Sac and 1 Feather can go in any slots you like. Only the set of ingredients is checked, not their arrangement.
What version of Minecraft added the Book and Quill?
Minecraft 1.3.1 is the oldest release that calls the book and quill by that name. The current release still makes a Book and Quill exactly that way.

Sources

Grid, ingredients and yield
1 Book and 1 Ink Sac and 1 Feather in, 1 Book and Quill out, Crafting Table. Java 26.2, .
That Bedrock agrees
Bedrock 1.26.40.05, same 3 ingredients.
How far back it goes
Minecraft Java 1.3.1 uses this name and the release before it does not. From all 163 released Java clients, rd-132211 to 26.2.
That the ingredients come back
What drops, what villagers trade and what farms regrow in Minecraft Java, followed through the recipes to see what those ingredients can be turned into.
Stack size
The Astroworld Items Database, built from the same jar.
The stack sum
Counted, not played: 1 Book and Quill per craft against the stack size.

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