Your annual subscription fee pays for your access to the network of thousands of book recommendations and the CMI team’s ability to add calls from your community to your Phone. You’ll also get access to weekly live video chats with other bookish venues, the CMI team, and a video featured on callmeishmael.com that highlights one great call from your venue. The annual subscription is $365, billed at the start of each year you have a Phone.

Your startup fee enables us to create and ship you one Call Me Ishmael Phone with one power cord, the option of two long-lasting rechargeable USB batteries (lasting 8-12 hours each) and an optional floor stand. This fee starts at $150 and varies, depending on which power and mounting options you select. Floor stand: we recommend mounting your Call Me Ishmael Phone on a wall or other sturdy surface. However, if you’d like to get a floor stand for your Phone, this one on Amazon is our favorite. When you check out, select the “Floor stand” option and we’ll send along a special hook plus instructions on how to set it up to accommodate your new phone.

Your Call Me Ishmael Phone will arrive pre-loaded with popular stories that will play through the Phone’s headset as soon as you plug it in. The startup fee is an up front cost. Monthly billing for this service ($60 per month, 3 month min.) will not begin until one week after your CMI Phone arrives.

A few days before we ship your Phone, the CMI team will be in touch to set you and your staff up with a an online account for the CMI Portal so you can begin curating and uploading stories to your Phone. This account will give you access to our ever-growing library of stories, your venue’s own private library of stories, training materials for your staff, and tips from the community of people using CMI Phones to engage readers around the world. It will also allow you to activate the Phone’s ringing feature. If someone answers the ringing Phone, a beautifully bookish story will automatically play through the Phone’s headset.

By completing this purchase, you agree to Call Me Ishmael’s Terms and Conditions.

If you have questions about this service, feel free to contact us at ishmael@callmeishmael.com, or check out our FAQ.

Product Specs

• Size: 24 inches tall, 8 inches wide, 8 inches deep.

• Wight: 9 pounds

• Wall Power option uses a standard two pin wall outlet.

• Battery power option comes with two rechargeable USB batteries, lasting 8-12 hours each.

• Wall Mount option is a standard two screw wall mount. Screw and anchors included.

• Floor stand option is height adjustable by removing parts of the pole. Ranges from 2-6 feet tall. 2’x2’ footprint. 30 pounds. Pole fasteners allow you to slide the Phone up and down the pole.

• Lockable coin box: The rechargeable USB battery is stored inside the coin box. The Phone does not accept any coins.