Autographs from afar.(LongPen[TM]: writing around the world[TM])

Writing!, February, 2008

Maybe author Margaret Atwood got sneezed on by one too many of her fans. She came up with a concept that allows authors to do bookstore autograph signings from the comfort of their own homes.

LongPen is a device that can be setup in two locations--in a bookstore and in a writer's home, office, or any other location. The author signs his or her name on an electronic writing tablet, just as if it were a real piece of paper. Then, at the push of a button, a robotic arm at the bookstore inscribes the name in real ink, right in front of the person who requested the autograph. LongPen also lets authors and fans meet "face-to-face" via a videoconferencing system viewed on computer monitors.

So far, writers such as Dean Koontz, Alice Munro, and Robert E...

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