The short-story vending machine at Edmonton International Airport in Alberta. The stories are free and come in various lengths depending on how long you want to read. (Credit : Edmonton International Airport)

For many travelers, airports are places to pass through as swiftly as possible, not places to savor. The incessant drone of announcements, the frustration of being shut out of increasingly exclusive lounges, the overpriced food, the serpentine lines and the fruitless search for an electrical outlet all can make for a hellish experience.

But every now and then an airport can offer unexpected and delightful amenities that ease travel’s pain points. [...]

Mr. Tsutsui was one of more than 1,300 people who responded when we asked readers to tell us about their favorite airport amenities. Their suggestions included, yes, yoga rooms (at San Francisco International Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport, and Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, among others) but also short-story dispensers, tranquil gardens, even a swimming pool.

Here’s a list that might make your next layover actually enjoyable. [...]

Hit Vending Machines : 
At Edmonton International Airport in Alberta, a kiosk dispenses free short stories of different reading lengths (one, three or five minutes) by local authors, printed on what look like long receipts and available in French or English. The dispenser was created by a French company, Short Édition, that specializes in brief works and is trying to encourage reading for fun (located after security on the departures level by Gate 60).

Certain SEPTA vehicles and stations will be part of an art installation this fall that uses augmented reality to tell stories about the daydreams of public transit riders.

...[Kiosks that include short stories from the project's participants and allows submissions from the general public will be installed at the Philadelphia International Airport, Jefferson Station, Suburban Station, SEPTA headquarters and the Parkway Central Library. The installation is positioned to reach more than 500,000 daily commuters and riders....]

Principal Foundation's story dispenser at Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company, August 2023. Courtesy Center for Fiction, Principal Foundation

Three organizations are teaming up on a short story contest meant to entice readers to consider the almighty dollar through “the universal art form of storytelling”

The Principal Foundation, a philanthropic grantmaking organization with a focus on financial literacy, is collaborating with the Center for Fiction and French independent publisher Short Édition on a short story contest called Money Chronicles: A Story Initiative.

Finalists’ fiction and creative nonfiction will be distributed for free at participating bookstores and libraries via Short Édition’s Short Story Dispensers. The dispensers, which operate with the touch of a button, randomly select a short story and print it on a paper scroll that resembles an oversize receipt. This no-strings-attached format might entice readers to consider the almighty dollar through “the universal art form of storytelling,” said Principal Foundation director Jo Christine Miles.

Literature Dispenser at St Luke’s Hospital, Dublin (photo courtesy of Ema Stanton)

To celebrate National Poetry Day on 27 April and Dublin International Literature Festival in May, Ema Staunton, Arts Co-ordinator of St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network, has introduced a literature dispenser, a novel way of sharing original short stories, poetry and comics with patients and staff

A vending machine of stories that fascinates the world

And Francis Ford Coppola as well

Japan is often referred to as a "vending machine superpower" because of the abundance of vending machines on every street corner. In Europe, on the other hand, vending machines were not popular because of their negative impact on the landscape and environment. However, unique vending machines have appeared in recent years. In France, there is a vending machine that provides you with stories that have fascinated people around the world.

Charles de Gaulle Airport, the gateway to France, is crowded with tourists and business travelers from all over the world. In Terminal 2, there is a station for trains heading to central Paris and other destinations. People were passing the time in the waiting area. Most of them were staring at their smartphone screens.

The Short Story Dispenser acts as a kind of vending machine for stories — a library within a library. (Anna Schwartz / Staff Photographer)

At Emory University’s Woodruff Library, stories don’t just live on the shelves. They exist in The Short Story Dispenser, printed on glossy receipts and dispensed with the click of a button. 

 They exist in The Short Story Dispenser, printed on glossy receipts and dispensed with the click of a button. Students who stroll through the library basement may find themselves face to face with the quirky new machine just outside of Banjo Coffee. 

A metal cylinder with three buttons and a tall glass rectangle with the words “Short Story Dispenser,” the machine’s instructions are simple: “Select, Read, Enjoy.” As of Feb. 13, Emory’s new toy for voracious readers and procrastination-prone students alike has finally arrived on campus. 

I like to travel but I’m not a very good packer. Admittedly, I usually forget something and end up having to buy it at the airport or my final destination. That’s usually not a big deal. [...] 

Flying without something to read is unthinkable to me. It used to be that I could count on finding a magazine on the plane, but that’s not always the case now. Since the pandemic, the presence of those in-flight magazines has been hit or miss. Therefore, I have to pick up some reading material at an airport bookshop or newsstand. But if I’m ever flying out of the airport in Wichita, Kansas, I’d have another option: the short story dispenser.

According to the Wichita Public Library, Wichita became one of four cities to receive Short Édition short story dispensers thanks to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2018. 

Wichita engineer Kim Burton, a senior manager in product support for Textron Aviation, was at the Eisenhower National Airport on Wednesday flying out to California to a conference for women in aviation and discovered one of the Wichita Public Library’s sh

Wichita engineer Kim Burton is so popular on TikTok that when asked about views for one video she posted this week, she casually said, “I think we’re at, like, a half million for today.”

Maynooth University's new Short Story Dispenser

At Maynooth University Library a new machine can been seen in reception called a 'Short Story Dispenser'. It spits out poetry, short stories and graphics on receipt paper. They last one, three or five mins. Some fun, some serious. The machine was developed in France by Short Editions and is slowly going global at hotels, airports and libraries.

Henry McKean spoke with a short story writer and visited Maynooth University and met the students trying out the machine with the librarians...

The machine dispenses literature, in short story format. Customers can choose from a menu of printed out stories lasting one, three, or five minutes.

Among the facilities on the campus of Maynooth University these days is a small machine that looks it might sell bus tickets to Dublin.

In fact, it dispenses literature, in short-story format. Customers can choose from a menu of printed out stories lasting one, three, or five minutes.

And unlike most vending machines, this one doesn’t charge.

Short Story Dispenser

Travelers flying through Eugene Airport can now pick up free reading at a new short story dispenser provided in a partnership between the Airport, Eugene Public Library and Eugene Public Library Foundation.
People of all ages can use a touch-free button to choose Local, International, or For Kids options, then receive a free short story or poem printed on demand like a receipt using ink-free recycled paper.