Local writers can now submit short stories to be placed in the Wichita Public Library's three short story dispensers, located at Reverie Coffee Roasters (2202 E. Douglas Ave.), Hunter Health Clinic (527 N. Grove St.) and Ablah Library at Wichita State University (1845 N. Fairmount St.).
Writers may submit stories and review full terms and conditions on the submission portal,
wichita-public-library.short-edition.com. Guidelines include:
- Stories and poems must be original with a maximum length of 8,000 characters
- Works must be fictional, or deal with historical or biographical topics in a literary manner
- Stories can be of any genre, but pornographic or erotic texts are not permitted
A panel of Library staff members will review and places works in the dispensers. Authors won't be paid for story submissions.
In 2020, the short story dispensers were updated to a no-touch model that features children's stories, local stories and Short Edition stories curated by Short Edition, the French company that manufactures the dispensers. Visitors to the dispensers simply hover their hand over the type of story they'd like to read, and the machine releases a short story printed on a receipt-like paper.
