BART short story program proving to be a success
BAY AREA - For the past year and a half, BART has actively worked to convert its ridership into a readership with a free in-station short story dispensing system at a handful of stations.
Launched in January 2021, the Short Story Dispenser kiosks have delivered 17,198 short stories to riders at the Richmond, Fruitvale, Balboa Park and Pleasant Hill stations, according to BART officials.
The stories are written to be read within one, three or five minutes and are printed by the no-touch kiosks on recyclable paper, BART officials said in a news release Monday.
"What pushed us to really move this project forward is that the Bay Area has such a wealth of bookstores, readers and writers," said BART Art Program Manager Jennifer Easton.
The transit system is also looking to expand its stable of authors by encouraging local writers to submit their work via a short story contest that ends June 30.
People interested in participating can find out more about the contest rules by visiting https://short-edition.com/en/contest/bart-lines-2022.
A panel of local authors -- J. K. Fowler, Daniel Handler, Annalee Newitz, Ishmael Reed and Ingrid Rojas Contreras -- will select 30 finalists, who will receive $200 and whose stories will be added to the kiosks' offerings.
BART also plans to add the literary vending machines to more stations in the future.