The 102-year-old Fremont Branch has a new attraction: The Short Edition story dispenser.
In between browsing the collection, using a computer or other services, you can now print out a 1-minute, 3-minute or 5-minute story to enjoy on the spot (more on the five-minute option later).
The story dispenser was moved last week from its post at The Station coffee shop in Beacon Hill to the Fremont Branch, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been named a landmark building by Seattle’s Landmarks Preservation Board. (It’s also located just blocks from the Fremont Troll and other neighborhood attractions.)
It’s expected to stay there through the month of May, and will be a fun addition to the branch’s collections, programs and events, which include a monthly in-person program for local writers, “Write with Hugo House.” A weekly family story time starts up again in May at the branch.
Unfamiliar with how a story dispenser works? Simply visit the slim, kiosk-like machine and choose a story length option with a wave of your hand (dispensers are contactless). Stories are printed on a receipt-like piece of paper to take on the go. Since the installation of story dispensers, readers have ordered more than 14,000 short stories.
The Library has two dispensers. The other is located on level 3 at the Central Library (1000 Fourth Ave.), near the information booth.
Both of The Seattle Public Library’s story dispensers recently got an exciting update: They now feature a new collection of stories written exclusively by local authors. When you’re at the dispenser, simply select the “Local Writers” button, which is the five-minute option.
Short Edition, the French publishing company that produces story dispenser devices, has curated the collection, which features stories from authors such as Kristen Millares Young, a finalist for the 2021 Washington State Book Award for Creative Nonfiction and a writing workshop instructor for classes at the Library; as well as Katie Kurtz and Angie McCullagh, participants of the Library’s 2023 Writers’ Room Residency, which provides a secure and shared writing space on Level 9 of the Central Library.
Short Edition has installed more than 300 dispensers around the world in unexpected places such as airports, train stations and museums. Writers can submit stories for consideration on Short Edition’s website at https://short-edition.com/en.
The Short Edition story dispenser was made possible by a generous grant from The Seattle Public Library Foundation.
Seattle-area authors’ work now featured in the short story dispensers
The following works of short fiction by local authors are now included in Seattle-area short story dispensers:
- Alicia Bones: “Everybody Wants an Uncomplicated Life” and “Scissor to Strand Salonspa”
- Alina Rios: “Seeking Ore” and “Woven”
- Andrea Eaker: “The Build of a Siren”
- Angie McCullagh: “The Whole Flow” and “Green Freak”
- Caitlin Andrews: “Color Me Blue”
- Carol Roscoe: “Ruby’s First Novel” and “Transplants”
- Carolyn Abram: “Nostalgia”
- Ching-In Chen: “Tree Skin” and “Leaving the Desert (story in reverse)”
- David Drury: “When the Lights Came Up” and “The House Lamps”
- Hillary Behrman: “Rocks” and “The Lost and Found”
- Jennifer Fliss: “Handprints” and “For the Dachshund Enthusiast”
- Jessica Duling: “Santa’s Helpers” and “The Days I Hope For”
- Johan Liedgren: “Legs About Love”
- John Whittier Treat: “Almost”
- Kate Williams: “Doors Swing Both Ways”
- Katie Kurtz: “Session” and “The Book”
- Kristen Millares Young: “Try Saying Yes”
- Lindy Thompson: “Bugging Out” and “The Ice Storm”
- Matthew Simmons: “We Posted Through It”
- Michael Bracy: “Granny Earlene”
- Michelle Templeton: “Reading Emily Bronte” and “Burn”
- Rita Grace Atmajian: “Natural Wonders” and “Three Little Birds”
- Ruthie Nicklaus: “Just the Groceries, Please”
- Stephanie Barbé Hammer: “Island Story” and “The Beautiful Pilot”
- Sudeshna Sen: “Tagebuch”
- Suzanne Morrison: “The Mother’s Portion”
- William Gallien: “A Bunny Rabbit Eats Tea Leaves On TV”
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