News

Vending machine dispenses short stories

May 25, 2016

Visitors at Café Zoetrope on San Francisco's North Beach can now pass their time with a short story straight from a vending machine. The Short Edition machine dispenses free printed stories that can be read in one, three or five minutes, according to a report by KQED.

Director Francis Ford Coppola, an Academy Award winner and owner of Café Zoetrope, first encountered the Short Edition kiosk in France and decided to purchase one for his café.

"This intriguing short story machine gives us a great opportunity to merge the innovation of today's world with the nostalgic allure of classic manuscripts," Coppola said.

Most of the stories for the kiosk are translated from French into English. Soon, however, many of the stories will come from the Zoetrope Virtual Studio flash fiction community. The top-rated stories from the community will be added to the kiosk, according to the report.

"I'd like to see the city of San Francisco put them everywhere, so that while waiting for a bus, or marriage license, or lunch, you could get an artistic lift free of charge," Coppola said.