Vending
DC vending machine dispenses books near White House
November 13, 2025
A vending machine just steps from the White House, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund is fueling minds with local literature, not snacks.
The project, called LitBox, was launched in May by author Lauren Woods to combat what she saw as the hyper-competitive publishing industry's bias against local authors and smaller presses in Washington, D.C., bookstores.
"I had friends who wrote award-winning books and couldn't get their books into D.C. bookstores because they were smaller presses,"Woods told NPR, adding the situation "always seemed wrong to me."
Inspired by a European book vending machine, Woods set up LitBox to market books more equitably. Her experiment appears to be working; the machine, which hosts books by local writers like Diana Rojas and Itoro Bassey, is selling almost as many books from smaller presses as it is from the industry's "Big Five" publishers.
Woods, who crowdfunded nearly $7,000 for the launch, hopes LitBox will also raise the literary profile of the city.
Danielle Fisher, a market manager for Western Market food hall where LitBox is housed, said the machine has captivated passersby and offers a "special touch" that aligns with featuring local vendors.
Woods hopes to expand LitBox to other locations across the District.
