Eugene's Mahlon Sweet Field is home to a vending machine that dispenses free short stories, thanks to a partnership among the Eugene Public Library, the Eugene Public Library Foundation and the airport.Lori Tobias/For The Oregonian

Travelers can find all kinds of goodies in airport vending machines – candy, soda, cosmetics, electronics. But in Oregon, only at Eugene’s Mahlon Sweet Field can an airport vending machine dispense a good read. The airport houses the only Short Story Dispenser in the state.

The airport houses one of four Short Story Dispensers by the French publishing house Short Édition in the state (Wasco County Library hosts dispensers in The Dalles, Dufur and Maupin). The Eugene dispenser, however, is the most popular, producing the second most printings in the entire country, second only to that in the Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C.

Library Dean Elizabeth Dill poses with one hand on a Short Édition Kiosk button and the other grasping short stories printed on the first floor of the University Library. Photo Credit: Delfino Camacho

Literature-loving students busy with schedules can now get a reading respite from a short story dispenser on the first floor of the University Library.

Made by French publishing house Short Édition, the library acquired the mechanical kiosk this July. 

“I saw it on LinkedIn; another University had one in their library, I think it was in Michigan, and that gave me the idea to do one here,” Library Dean Elizabeth Dill said.

“That was the first one I saw, and I thought, what a great way to do outreach for our library and our university community,” she said. 

CUHK Library has installed a new Short Story Dispenser in its main lobby to promote literature and cultivate a culture of reading and writing on campus.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Library has installed a new Short Story Dispenser in its main lobby to promote literature and cultivate a culture of reading and writing on campus.

The state-of-the-art Short Story Dispenser, created by French publishing house Short Édition, offers a unique, innovative approach to promoting leisure reading. Users can choose from three categories – “English”, “Chinese” and “CUHK works” – and receive printed short stories, essays, poems or comics on a long strip of paper, allowing them to read printed works during brief moments of downtime.

Principal Foundation, in collaboration with French publisher Short Édition and the literary nonprofit Center for Fiction, has announced a 2024 round of Money Chronicles: A Story Initiative, a contest launched in 2023.

Authors are invited to submit short works of fiction and creative nonfiction “that reflect lived experiences with money,” a project aligned with the Principal Foundation’s goal of boosting financial literacy. The submissions portal will be open through October 2.

Le Distributeur d'Histoires Courtes est une borne qui imprime gratuitement et en aléatoire des histoires courtes à lire sur place ou à emporter.

Distraire, apaiser, donner confiance, créer du lien… les bienfaits de la lecture et de l'écriture se révèlent avec le programme Nouvelles de l'hôpital, d'après les résultats intermédiaires de l'étude d'impact. Une cinquantaine d'établissements adhèrent au dispositif. 

La région Nouvelle-Aquitaine s’est lancée, en 2022, dans une expérience pilote favorisant, au moyen d’un distributeur à histoires, la lecture courte et l’écriture collaborative des élèves des lycées généraux, technologiques, professionnels ou agricoles. La boîte imprime des histoires courtes et des ateliers incitent les jeunes à les écrire.

Bradley Public Library is calling on writers from 3rd grade to adults to submit original fiction for their Short Story Cube. 

In 700 words or less, participants should draw inspiration from the quote: “The night sky, a cosmic abyss, holds the promise of mystery and adventure, beckoning wanderers like me to explore its depths.” 

Pecq - Un Distributeur d'Histoires Courtes pour patienter en lisant

Nous nous sommes déjà tous retrouvés dans la situation. Lorsque nous attendons notre tour par exemple chez le médecin ou à l'administration communale, il nous arrive régulièrement de sortir notre smartphone pour patienter.

Sandy Bexon. (File photo)

​​​​​​I used to think it was only writers who were extra aware of the different markets that welcomed us in, but I’m coming to know that readers also share that priority. Readers have supported independently-published books for a long time now, so that’s not new.

[...] Equally impressive is the Edmonton International Airport’s short story dispenser. Yup, along with the machines that drop sweet or salty snacks into your hands is a device that prints a one-minute or a five-minute short story. The idea is to keep travelers entertained while supporting local authors. Edmonton was the first airport in North America to offer this free reading opportunity and only the second in the world. Talk about taking the celebration of words to new heights.

(photo Moventis Pays de Montbéliard)

Quelques semaines après le lancement du nouveau réseau évolitY, bus du Pays de Montbéliard, Moventis dévoile son nouveau projet qui place la culture au cœur de la vie des habitants du Pays de Montbéliard.
À l’occasion du lancement de l’année Capitale française de la Culture, Moventis avait annoncé son intention d’utiliser le réseau de transport du Pays de Montbéliard pour promouvoir la culture à chaque coin de rue. C’est désormais chose faite. Depuis quelques jours et jusqu’à la fin du mois de juin 2024, la littérature courte s’invite dans l’espace public offrant aux clients du réseau évolitY la possibilité de lire gratuitement des histoires courtes.

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's newest toy: a short story dispenser. (Credit: Thomas Wheatley/Axios)

Thomas here! Before a recent flight to visit my mom, I dropped by Concourse T to check out Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's newest toy: a short story dispenser. 

Why it matters: The Atlanta airport is one of the South's most interesting places, and it's filled with surprises and oddities (those TSA 3D gun holograms, for one).

Here's another.
Zoom in: The unassuming kiosk at T17 prints out the option of a free children's, general audience or Spanish-language story at the push of a button.

Zoom out: French company Short Édition has installed more than 500 of its patented kiosks at locations on five continents, including several U.S. airports.

Metro RTA and the Akron-Summit County Public Library have partnered to offer a Library on the Go area inside the transit center. The area features lockers stocked with library materials that transit riders can borrow with a library card.Courtesy of Metro

AKRON, Ohio – Metro RTA and the Akron-Summit County Public Library celebrated the opening of the new Library on the Go service at the transit center, located at 631 S. Broadway St. in Akron.
[...]  A short story dispenser that prints stories for children and adults is also located in the Library on the Go area. The dispenser was added to the transit center approximately two years ago and has been popular with riders, according to Becker.

“Anything we can do to make life better for our transit loyal customers and our employees we will do,” Becker said. “We are hopeful this will catch on and be added to other transit centers throughout the country.”