‘The novelty lies in the dispenser, but also the brevity and portability of the reads on offer, which range from one minute to half an hour.’ Photograph: PR

If they succeed in distracting commuters from their smartphones, short story dispensers will be a welcome addition to the landscape
Can fiction miniatures dispensed through slots lure commuters away from their smartphone apps and social media feeds into the imaginary worlds created by authors including Virginia Woolf and Anthony Horowitz? We are about to find out. The French company Short Édition, which already has short-story vending machines in France, Hong Kong and the US, arrives in the UK this week, unveiling its first three terminals in London. Henceforth, travellers through Canary Wharf will have the option of forsaking news, email, Football Manager 2019 and every other temptation their handheld device can offer in favour of a story on a scroll of paper, printed on demand for free.

Bud Werner Memorial Library is the first location in Colorado to offer the Short Story Dispenser, a new permanent acquisition. (Courtesy photo by Jennie Lay)

In today's all-too familiar pandemonium of everyday life, free time is often a distant daydream. Reading? For many, that too seems far fetched. The French publishing company, Short Édition, has a solution — one that offers intellectual breaks of spontaneous prose combined with passion. It's known internationally as "The Short Story Dispenser," and it's inspiring a community of readers with more than 100,000 short stories by 9,000 authors from classic literary short works, such as Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf. "Stories elevate our lives," said Jennie Lay, adult programs coordinator for the Bud Werner Memorial Library.

Let there be lit - Initiative brings on-demand short stories to unexpected places

Reading for pleasure is at an all-time low in the U.S. A recent government report revealed Americans read for fun about 17 minutes each day. "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Dana Jacobson reports on a unique program that brings reading to unexpected places.

Stories are shared many ways. They are recounted in books and magazines. They are read aloud around the campfire at night. They are randomly dispensed from stand-alone kiosks, doled out on strips of paper like grocery store receipts.
Wait, what was that last one?
Leave it to the French, with their love of Voltaire and Simone de Beauvoir, to revive literature in the era of hot takes, fast news and smartphone addiction.

photo Kalman N. Muller

Patrons at the bar of Cafe Zoetrope in San Francisco have a diversion to help pass the minutes: They can read a story. It’s not a story on their phone or Kindle, or even an honest-to-goodness book, but a story they have printed out from a dedicated machine that stands in the bar.
Short Edition is a French company which, having had success in its native country across 150 venues, turned its attention to U.S. shores.

Akron-Summit County Public Library is one of four public libraries nationwide to offer Short Story Dispensers, or kiosks that dispense written works at the touch of a button.
The Public Library Association, community publisher Short Edition and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation partnered to offer this program to four select libraries in the United States.

...But one innovation has broken new ground for voracious readers who prefer their next story stay in the physical realm. The Short Story Dispenser, which made a splash last month at CES 2018...

Francis Ford Coppola liked the machine so much, he bought one

At any given moment our phones have access to nearly all of the world's knowledge, literature, history and science. Despite such rich resources, many of us opt to kill time by scrolling through social media, messages or random videos. The French company Short Edition is out to change how we spend our time waiting with its Short Story Dispenser.

Following The Prompt To “press. Read. Enjoy!” Was Easy Enou...

Need a story on the go? Columbus City Schools is installing automated short story kiosks throughout the city to promote reading.
The kiosks function like ATMs that dispense free short stories. Users select one of two buttons: “Stories for Young Readers” or “Stories for Everyone.” Then stories are printed out on rolls of paper similar to receipts.
The stories and machines come from Short Édition, which has a database of tens of thousands of stories.

The Edmonton International Airport is featuring works by local authors from a short story dispenser for travellers waiting for their flights. The dispenser, from a France-based company Short Edition, is a thin tower with three buttons, indicating a one minute, three minute and five minute story – when one of the buttons is pushed, a short story is printed on receipt paper. EIA is the first Canadian airport location to use the machine, and the second in the world (after Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport, in France).