Prose at the Push of a Button with Library’s New Short Story Vending Machine

Library visitors looking for a quick dose of literary inspiration can now pull a few paragraphs from classic novels or enjoy a spot of poetry from two innovative new short story vending machines launched in Lincoln this week.

The University of Lincoln UK, has taken delivery of two new machines made by French publishing company Short Édition, which enable users to select from three different lengths of short story to be printed for free on a receipt-sized scroll of eco-friendly paper.

A recent study commissioned by Canary Wharf, the first UK site to install one of the machines, estimated that 36 per cent of UK adults gave up on a book in the last year because they had no time to finish it. Created with busy lives in mind, the dispensers aim to make literature more accessible in public spaces, drawing peoples focus away from their screens with portable, bite-sized pieces of literature that can be finished in a matter of minutes.

As well as work by literary greats from Dickens to Virginia Woolf, the system also offers the opportunity for fledgling writers to submit their work, which if accepted for publication could appear on over 150 short story machines across the world. The University’s submission portal will launch later this year.

The first Lincoln machine will be installed at the University’s Great Central Warehouse Library with plans for the other to pop-up in locations across the Brayford Pool campus, starting with the Minerva Building Library Learning Lounge, to give students, staff and visitors the opportunity to try the machines out for themselves.

The machines will also offer an opportunity for aspiring writers in the city to share their work with the public by potentially joining Short Edition’s repertoire of over 9,000 authors. Stories will first appear exclusively on the Lincoln dispensers before being considered for Short Édition’s international story archive.

The dispensers were launched on Tuesday 17th September by Professor Mary Stuart, the University’s Vice Chancellor. Speaking at the launch Mary said “I’m delighted that Lincoln is the first UK University to use this innovative technology to support the development of reading and writing in our University and city communities”

Ian Snowley, Dean of Student Learning Development and University Librarian said “We’re excited to be bringing this initiative onto campus. Not only will the new machines offer the opportunity to access stories at seemingly unexpected spots around campus to encourage people to engage more with reading, but we also hope that it will encourage students, staff and people across the city to become published authors by submitting their own work.”

With sustainability in mind, the University Library will be creating a ‘Short Story’ zone in the Library, where readers can leave stories they’ve printed out to be picked-up by others and read, and then shared again.

Stories can also be read online at https://short-edition.com/en/

The machines will be available for use from Tuesday 17th September.