Erin Dorney

A few months ago I came across the fabulous work of mixed media artist Kristen Solecki, out of Charleston, SC. There’s just something about her use of color that really draws me to her prints and paintings. I ended up purchasing some of her owl prints to give away as gifts and they were gorgeous in really simple Ikea frames.

Kristen contacted me a few weeks later to let me know about a new publication that she and partner Tim LeVan Miller are embarking on. Enter Sips Card:

“Sips Card brings independent fiction and local coffee shop/bar venues together. Customers can find Sips Cards at participating coffee shop-like venues. Each card contains a QR code, loaded with a short story from an independent writer meant to last as long as their drink. The cards are venue specific and include their business information as well as that issue’s author, story title, and website.”

Um, amazing. I immediately loved this project because it’s the perfect combination: coffee, good writing, and technology. Plus, it’s an example of QR codes that actually makes a lot of sense (rather than randomly slapping the darn things on every piece of paper in sight). Also, this would be a really fun activity for a library. I could totally see an academic library partnering up with their student-run literary magazine and in-house coffee shop to do a project like this. Maybe even team up with Sips Card to do a limited-series offshoot event of some kind. FUN!

Check out the Sips Card website or Facebook page to learn more about the project. Submissions of poetry and short stories will be accepted April 16 – May 31 for Issue 2. Writers, get a move on! Hope to see some of your best work featured on a Sips Card.