Here are several inspiring works that can help you become a better storyteller, writer, performer, and mapmaker. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a collection of titles picked out by playtesters and the Dungeons & Dragons creative team. For more inspirational reading, see the Appendices in the Player's Handbook.
Atlas Games. , Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game. ,
Bernhardt, William. , Creating Character: Bringing Your Story to Life.
Perfecting Plot: Charting the Hero's Journey.
Story Structure: The Key to Successful Fiction.
Bowers, Malcolm. , Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names. ,
Browning, Joseph & Suzi Yee. , A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe. ,
Burroway, Janet. , Writing Fiction. ,
Cleaver, Jerry. , Immediate Fiction. ,
Cordingly, David. , Under the Black Flag. ,
Egri, Lajos. , The Art of Dramatic Writing. ,
Ewalt, David M. , Of Dice and Men. ,
Gygax, Gary. , Gary Gygax's Living Fantasy and the rest of the Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds series.
Master of the Game.
Role-Playing Mastery.
Hindmarch, Will. , The Bones: Us and Our Dice. ,
Hindmarch, Will & Jeff Tidball. , Things We Think About Games. ,
Hirsh, Jr., E.D. , The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. ,
Ingpen, Robert. , The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were. ,
Kaufmann, J.E. & H.W. , Kaufmann. The Medieval Fortress. ,
King, Stephen. , On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. ,
Koster, Raph. , A Theory of Fun for Game Design. ,
Laws, Robin D. , Hamlet's Hit Points. ,
Lee, Alan & David Day. , Castles. ,
Macaulay, David. , Castle. ,
Malory, Sir Thomas. , Le Morte d'Arthur. ,
McKee, Robert. , Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. ,
Mortimer, Ian. , The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England. ,
O'Connor, Paul Ryan, ed. , Grimtooth's Traps. ,
PennyPress. , Variety Puzzles and Games series. ,
Peterson, Jon. , Playing at the World. ,
Robbins, Ben. , Microscope. ,
Schell, Jesse. , Game Design: A Book of Lenses. ,
Snyder, Blake. , Save the Cat. ,
Swift, Michael and Angus Konstam. , Cities of the Renaissance World. ,
Truby, John. , The Anatomy of Story. ,
TSR. , Arms and Equipment Guide.
Campaign Sourcebook/Catacomb Guide.
The Castle Guide.
Walmsley, Graham. , Play Unsafe: How Improvisation Can Change the Way You Roleplay. ,
Wilford, John Noble. , The Mapmakers. ,
Writers Digest. , The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference.