Press Short Édition

Latest news 03-06-2023

[US] Kansas Airport Has A Short Story Dispenser

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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 Public Library  

06-02-2022

[US] SEPTA stations get makeover for reading campaign

Image of metrophiladelphia.com
Image of [US] SEPTA stations get makeover for reading campaign

Manoj Simha reads a short story distributed by a newly established kiosk at SEPTA’s Tasker-Morris station. Jack Tomczuk

Underground, at the Broad Street Line’s Tasker-Morris station in South Philadelphia, there’s now a mini-library. Riders, by placing their hand over touchless buttons, can now get free short stories, printed on store receipt-like paper. Many of the tales were written by local students.

The kiosks, which are also at the BSL’s Erie station, are part of a campaign unveiled Wednesday to engage kids and families taking SEPTA — and, ultimately, to boost literacy levels among the city’s children.

06-01-2022

San Francisco BART wants to get riders back with short stories

Image of www.optimistdaily.com

Many of us have whiled away the minutes on a bus or a train with a book. Now the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, the public transportation authority of San Francisco, is looking to attract riders back to public transportation by distributing short stories at select stations. 

05-23-2022

[US] A Train Trip With A Story on the Side

Image of www.bloomberg.com
Image of [US] A Train Trip With A Story on the Side

Short Story Dispenser at Pleasant Hill BART Station. Photographer: Maria Avila/BART

In unassuming corners of metro and train stations in cities all over the world, beyond the ticket machines and behind the throngs of people, there are vending machines that spit out stories. Even though I’ve apparently walked past one of the short story dispensers installed in four Bay Area Rapid Transit stations several times, I never knew they existed – until last week. 

05-18-2022

[US] Your BART story: Transit agency solicits literary works to boost ridership

Image of www.sfchronicle.com
Image of [US] Your BART story: Transit agency solicits literary works to boost ridership

The Short Édition fiction dispensers print out stories that take one, three or five minutes to read. Courtesy BART / BART

In an attempt to regain attention after a pandemic ridership drop, BART is willing to try anything — including commissioning new literary works.

The transit agency has started soliciting entries for a short fiction contest, the finalists of which will be available via story dispensers on BART platforms to be printed and read during a train ride home.

“(People) don’t think about BART and art. We’re trying to change that,” said BART Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost. “So many transit systems across the world have beautiful art, and we’re trying to find ways we can afford right now to bring art in the stations.

04-08-2022

[US] SEPTA turning everyday commutes into colorful reading adventures with new campaign

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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- While kids are commuting with their parents, SEPTA hopes families will use that time to discover the joy of reading. They kicked off the colorful, story-filled literacy campaign Wednesday in South Philadelphia called "Come Aboard the Reading Promise."

 

 

11-18-2021

Vending Machine Containing Literature Comes To South Coast

Image of www.kclu.org

There’s a new kind of vending machine on the South Coast that pops out literature. The Squire Foundation and the Santa Barbara Public Market are introducing the Short Edition Short Story Dispenser to the Santa Barbara Community.

The Squire Fondation  

11-18-2021

[US] Short-story dispenser gives a shot of literature with your latte

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Image of [US] Short-story dispenser gives a shot of literature with your latte

The Short-Story Dispenser resides at The Station coffee shop on Beacon Hill, for stories on demand.

Customers of The Station coffee shop on Beacon Hill can now grab a free story to read with their cup of joe.
The Seattle Public Library’s first short-story dispenser, produced by French publishing company Short Édition and supported by donors to the Foundation, was installed at the café near the Beacon Hill light rail station in December.

10-11-2021

[UK] Bernardine Evaristo shines light on black authors

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Image of [UK] Bernardine Evaristo shines light on black authors

The Short Story Stations at Canary Wharf are the first of their kind in the UK

AWARD-WINNING author, poet and activist Bernardine Evaristo has joined forces with Canary Wharf to make short stories from up and coming black authors available for free to thousands of people throughout Black History Month.


The Booker Prize winner has selected five black authors to have their stories published in Canary Wharf’s Short Story Stations – the innovative vending machines that will dispense one, three and five minute stories for free to help raise the profile of black writers.

Canary Wharf  

10-06-2021

[UK] News in pictures

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Image of [UK] News in pictures

DAVID PARRY/PA

Irenosen Okojie, Bernardine Evaristo and Nicola Williams unveil their short stories, which have been added to the Short Story Stations at Canary Wharf, London, to celebrate Black History Month

Canary Wharf  

10-05-2021

[UK] Black British Authors of the Future to be Published in Free ‘Short Story Stations’ Throughout Black History Month – 04.10.21

Image of group.canarywharf.com
Image of [UK] Black British Authors of the Future to be Published in Free ‘Short Story Stations’ Throughout Black History Month – 04.10.21

Black Britain: Writing Back with Bernardine Evaristo, Short Story Stations, Canary Wharf London, photogr. David Parry, PA Media

Award-winning author, poet and activist Bernardine Evaristo has joined forces with Canary Wharf to make short stories from up and coming black authors available for free to thousands of people throughout Black History Month. The Booker Prize winner has selected five black authors to have their stories published in Canary Wharf’s Short Story Stations – the innovative vending machines that will dispense one, three and five minute stories for free to help raise the profile of black writers.

Canary Wharf  

09-30-2021

[US] A free short story dispenser is coming to NYC

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Image of [US] A free short story dispenser is coming to NYC

You can choose stories by reading time or genre—and they're all free!

NYC has its share of vending machines, from ones that dispense PPE to others that dole out designer handbags. Now, the city can add a Short Story Dispenser to the list. Choosing from three categories of short stories, visitors to the Center For Fiction in Brooklyn can "push" a touchless button and the machine will dispense a scroll with a randomly chosen story for free.