Short Edition, based in Grenoble, France, works like a vending machine in that it dispenses consumable goods. The difference in this instance is that the product it dispenses is a piece of paper, much like a grocery store receipt, on which is printed a short story. According to the New York Times, Short Edition set up its first kiosk in 2016 and has 150 machines worldwide, with more than 30 of those installed in the United States in the past year.  

The first story dispense in the U.S. was installed at Francis Ford Coppola's café in San Francisco. Coppola liked the idea of the short story vending machine so much that he invested in the company.   

The dispenser is shaped like a cylinder with three buttons on top indicating how long it will take to read the story: "one minute," "three minute" or "five minute" story. When a button is pushed, a short story is printed on a long strip of paper.  

The stories are free. There are over 100,000 stories in the database, which are written by authors whose work is evaluated by Short Edition's judges and sent over a mobile network. Stories are divided into two categories: young readers and everybody else, although there are offerings split into categories such as children's fiction, romance, holiday-themed tales, and so on.  

Kristan Leroy, the export director at Short Edition said, "The idea is to make people happy. There is too much doom and gloom today."