#foundfiction is a publishing experiment that aims to circulate new writing in public spaces around the world. At bus stops, on trains, in parks, bookshops and art galleries, it's been dropping short stories contained in envelopes marked READ ME – sort of like a message-in-a-bottle type of thing.
The idea behind the project is simple. When someone stumbles upon a piece of #foundfiction, they let people know by finding #foundfiction through the hashtag on Twitter or Facebook, and hopefully their day has been brightened. That’s it.
#foundfiction is not trying to compete with the big publishing houses or the ebooks market – it's trying to get through to readers by being in the right place at the right time.
It's keen to hear from any creative writers – emerging or established. They can send their material to fictionfound@gmail.com, and it will be printed and distributed for free. The project is purely about writing and reading. It’s all anonymous, so while the writers themselves won’t be getting exposure, their work will – and they can be safe in the knowledge that they’re getting a global, yet unsuspecting, readership.
#foundfiction is only a few months old, but it's already established a network of writers and distributors around the UK – and as far as the USA, Canada and Australia.
As for what the future holds, I'm not so sure. Perhaps it will extend its community across the world and potentially have pieces of #foundfiction translated into different languages, but who knows what’s around the corner? What it has is not a business model, but a quirky concept that can inspire people. If it ends up changing the world, it’ll be one envelope at a time.
#foundfiction on Twitter, Facebook and Google Maps
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