La Ville du Havre s’est dotée de deux distributeurs d’histoires courtes. (©Philippe Bréard-VDH.)

Depuis le lancement de Lire au Havre (Seine-Maritime), en 2012, de nombreuses initiatives ont vu le jour : création du festival littéraire Le Goût des autres, du service Domicilivres (service de portage et partage de livres), mais aussi des livres nomades (livres à disposition dans différents lieux.

Modern life may seem like it’s all about speed and efficiency, but it still involves a lot of waiting around, and when it does, we end up pulling out our phones while we wait in lines at the coffee shop or for the next train. 

 But if you stop by the Santa Barbara Public Market, you’ll find an alternative solution to boredom.

Visitors to the Public Market can find a different way to pass the time with a Short Story Dispenser, installed at the beginning of last April by the Squire Foundation in partnership with the Public Market.

Aldo Naouri• Crédits : DR - Radio France

"Dimanche dernier je prenais le train pour Paris dans une petite gare de province. Dans la salle d’attente il y avait une petite machine que j’avais déjà vue dans d’autres endroits publics mais dont je n’avais pas encore testé l’usage.

Le distributeur d'histoires est installé à l'office du tourisme. © Laurence Javal

Un distributeur à histoires est installé, depuis plus d’un mois, à l’office du tourisme de Bourges. Une source inépuisable d’histoires courtes d’une, trois ou cinq minutes. Entre le choix d’une balade à travers la vieille ville ou un château à aller visiter, rien de telle qu’une petite histoire. Elle n’empêchera pas de se familiariser, ensuite, à la grande histoire de Bourges !

The stories are printed on eco-friendly papyrus paper. Image: REUTERS/Simon Dawson

Once upon a time, in one of the busiest parts of one of the busiest cities in the world, the people were so busy, they didn’t have time to finish reading lengthy works of fiction. So three vending machines were set up, dishing out not chocolate bars or cans of drink, but free short stories to those rushing by.

French creation, the short story dispenser, are now springing up around the world.

The Short Story Dispenser was invented by Short Edition, a French publishing house. Since 2015, the machines have been dispensing short stories on receipt paper that range from one to five minute reads, free of charge. The machines have proven so popular in France that they're now springing up around the world.

The Death of Mr Robinson, a one-minute read printed by a free short story vending machine in Canary Wharf station. The story was commissioned for the project from novelist Anthony Horowitz. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

‘Short story stations’ in Canary Wharf print one- three- and five-minute reads on demand “Every single day,” says Paresh Raichura, “I’m on the lookout for something new to read.” On his hour-long commute to Canary Wharf, where he works for the Financial Ombudsman, he picks up Time Out or a local paper or the freesheet Metro, but says: “I’ve stopped reading all the long novels I used to read.”

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 machines, made by French company Short Édition, will dispense free one, three and five-minute stories … with the first penned by Anthony Horowitz. Weary city workers will have a new way of passing the time on their commute once the UK’s first short-story vending machines are installed at Canary Wharf this week.

Roberta Phillips, left, and Chrissy Nizer cut the ribbon on the Short Story Dispenser on March 27 at the Beltsville, Md., Motor Vehicle Association. Phillips, CEO of the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, and Nizer, Maryland MVA administrator

The day they turned on the Short Story Dispenser at the Beltsville, Md., MVA was like any other, which is to say, it was crowded.
“Due to high volume,” a voice announced over the public address system, “there is an extended wait time.”

Gare de l’Est, lundi. Amandine et Clélia ont savouré une nouvelle du distributeur d’histoires.

INNOVATION. Des bornes de lecture express fleurissent dans les lieux publics. Un concept ludique, imaginé par une société grenobloise, qui plaît même à ceux qui ne mettent jamais le nez dans un livre.

Gare de l'Est. David Paquin

Le 10 décembre, la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme fête ses 70 ans. Exposition, distribution de livrets, concours d'écriture… sont organisés dans 84 gares de France, dont 15 à Paris et en Île-de-France. Chaque jour, un million de voyageurs empruntent les grandes gares franciliennes. Quel meilleur lieu pour faire passer un message ?