We hear it all the time - banter about the death of the short story, tales about how hard it is to sell short story anthologies. But might it be truer, in this modern world full of time pressures and expectations of instant gratification, to prophesize a revival of the short story.
Short stories and flash fiction allow readers to enjoy a whole story in a short period of time. If these stories were readily and economically available for reading during a tea break or a lunch break, on the train or the tram, or in the waiting room, would readership increase? At least one publisher thinks so and is taking advantage of technology to offer the stories through apps for smart phones and other mobile devices.
Ether Books is making short stories and flash fiction available through a free to download app for iPhone, iPad and iPodtouch. Ether delivers short fiction, articles, poetry and serials from both bestselling and emerging contemporary writers direct to mobile phones for less than the cost of a block of chocolate.
Ether believes readers will bypass electronic readers like Kindle, Nook and Sony E-reader in favour of reading bite-size stories on mobile devices they already own.
For more information go to Ether Books: http://www.etherbooks.com/
To download the free app: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id362070951?mt=8
My personal thanks go to Ether for accepting my short stories ‘Cry of the Plover’ and ‘Espresso’ for publication on the app.
Do you think this kind of app will lead to a resurgence of interest in the short story? We’s love to hear your views.
Are you an Ether author or have you downloaded any Ether stories?
