Conrad Mason's first children's novel, The Demon's Watch, features goblins, pirates, magic and skulduggery. He works in publishing.

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"Here's a familiar story. There's this magical amulet / sword / thing that some villains are after, and our hero has to stop them getting it. Hollywood scriptwriters call this desirable object the MacGuffin (don't ask me why). It's a useful device for creating drama, because everyone wants it and not everyone can have it.

But a great magical object is more than that. It's an ordinary thing made extraordinary, and it's not just the characters who want it – we all do. Witness the stacks of plastic Harry Potter wands in toyshops. Or the millions of replica One Rings sold after the Lord of the Rings films. And who can say they've watched Star Wars and come away without a secret (or not so secret) desire to own a lightsaber?

So here are my top 10 magical objects. If someone could just gather them all together, pop them in the Luggage and send them over, I'd be most grateful."

1. The Luggage (Discworld by Terry Pratchett)

A treasure chest crafted from magical sapient pearwood, capable of sprouting hundreds of tiny legs. Is it alive? Who knows. The Luggage follows its owner around like a dangerous pet, cheerfully eating people when required. I have no idea how Pratchett came up with it, but I think we're lucky that he did.

2. Magic carpet (One Thousand and One Nights)

I love the thought of a homely thing such as a carpet becoming a vehicle for adventure. And for some reason I can imagine exactly what it would feel like to sit on it, supported by nothing but air. Much more comfortable than a broomstick, I'd bet.

3. Excalibur (Arthurian legend)

Myths and legends are stuffed with all kinds of magic weaponry, but Excalibur is a no-brainer – the magical sword to end all magical swords. What's so great about Excalibur is the mystery surrounding it. Where did it come from? Who is the Lady of the Lake? And most importantly, where is it now?

4. The box of Turkish delight (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis)

There's the stone table, of course, not to mention the wardrobe itself. But for my money the most fascinating magical object in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is that box of Turkish delight. We don't know what it tastes like, but we can see the effect it has on Edmund. I will never forget the moment when the White Witch reneges on their deal: "Turkish delight for the little Prince," cackles her dwarf. "Ha! Ha! Ha!"

5. Seven League Boots (Bartimaeus by Jonathan Stroud)

These handy boots turn up in a lot of stories, but I like them best in Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy. They're worn by the mercenary Verroq and have a magical djinni locked up in each boot, allowing the wearer to cover vast distances with every stride.

6. Anaklusmos / Riptide (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan)

I wasn't going to include another sword, but I'll make an exception for Anaklusmos because it's also a pen. As with the magic carpet, there's something very appealing about such a mundane object transforming into a fantastical Ancient Greek blade. And it gives a whole new meaning to the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword.

7. The Treasures of Elidor (Elidor by Alan Garner)

Alan Garner's books are fabulously sinister, and so are the magical objects in them. In Elidor, four mythical treasures – a spear, sword, stone and cauldron – become bits of junk when four children bring them into the real world. But they still exert a strange influence, disrupting electrical appliances and drawing villains to the children's doorstep.

8. The Elder Wand (Harry Potter series by JK Rowling)

Harry Potter is a treasure trove of magical objects, but I like the wands best of all. There's so much loving detail built up around them – the wandmakers, the different woods and cores, and above all the fact that each one is unique to its owner. I think most of us would like to know what type of wand we'd get if we went to Hogwarts.

9. Mjolnir (The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams)

The hammer of Thor, Norse god of storms. It can smash mountains to smithereens and return to its owner's hand like a boomerang. Mjolnir crops up wherever Thor is found, but I'm particularly fond of it in Douglas Adams's book The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, in which the storm god uses it to throw epic tantrums.

10. The One Ring (The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien)

Last but not least, probably the most famous magical object of all time and the MacGuffin par excellence. Plain gold except when exposed to fire, which makes it all the more beguiling – its secrets are locked up within. Surely the most malevolent inanimate object in all of literature.