Anthony Horowitz has written a story especially for the scheme. Picture: Sean Pollock/seanpollock.com

Short story stations are to dispense free short stories at three locations in Canary Wharf.
The machines, set to be installed across Canary Wharf this week, contain an exclusive story by the author and screenwriter that can be read in less than one-minute.
Mr Robinson is Horowitz’s shortest ever fictional work and takes the form of a whodunnit – a genre he is best known for with his Alex Rider novels. Mr Horowitz said: “I’ve always loved the challenge of the short story – creating a whole world in just a few pages. “So I was very happy to write Mr Robinson for Canary Wharf’s brilliant new short story stations.

Short Edition Business Development Manager Christophe Sibieude and Loic Giraut celebrate the installation with Elizabeth Merrifield and Lisa Nickel of W&M Libraries. (WYDaily/Courtesy W&M Libaries)

On the first night of its debut in Swem Library, the new short story dispenser printed so many short stories – 200 to be exact – that the machine ran out of paper.
“As a library, we want to help students engage in creative activities, pleasure reading and personal enrichment,” said librarian Liz Bellamy. “And the fact that we went through an entire roll of paper the very first day shows that students really want that too,” said Liz Bellamy.