Vending Machines for Literature

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

          On yesterday's (7/10/16) CBS Sunday Morning show during “The Man in Paris” segment, reporter David Turecamo discussed vending machines for literature spread around Grenoble, France. Patrons can choose free stories that take one, three, or five minutes to read while they are waiting in line. The machines choose the stories randomly based only on the chosen time frame then print them out on long, narrow rolls of paper.

When the inventors of the Short Edition vending machines showed the mayor a prototype, he had the first one placed in Grenoble’s Town Hall. Now there are eight machines in municipal buildings around the city including the Tourist Information Office.

Since word has spread about these machines, the inventors are receiving requests to place them all over the world. Short Edition has ordered 45 machines to start meeting the demand. Hopefully, there will be one near each of us eventually.

In the five years since Short Edition began, there are now 10,000 contributing authors and about 150,000 regular readers. The best of the stories are published in a book each year.

This is great news for writers who want to contribute their work and for anyone stuck in a line without something to read.

For more information, visit the CBS Sunday Morning web site or, if you can read French, short-edition.com.