vienna poetry school call for text submissions 2026

sfd& witze (jokes)

magazine of the vienna poetry school #08

deadline: 15. juni 2026

we welcome unpublished short texts in german and english from both austria and abroad! please send us previously unpublished texts that explore the theme of “jokes”.
texts may be up to 1,400 characters in length; there are no restrictions on genre (a jury will be responsible for selecting the contributions; the texts will be submitted anonymously). 

for full details on the call for submissions and how to enter (via the online form only), see below. planned publication date: november 2026 (the exact date will be announced in due course.) 

jokes

"why do i feel inclined not to include in my fine literature — the kind of literature i prefer—those poems, prose pieces and stage dialogues that make me smile, that provoke belly-aching laughter within me? why do i feel compelled to view such texts as lying outside the magic circle, to exclude them, to set them aside, to push them to one side? i seem to find a parallel in roland barthes: in his book camera lucida, he writes: ‘i do not like humour, neither in music nor in photography.’"
translated with deepl.com (free version)

(original german text: "warum fühle ich mich geneigt, das gedicht, den prosatext, den bühnendialog, die mich zum schmunzeln bringen, die in mir das zwerchfellerschütternde lachen erzeugen, nicht eingliedern zu wollen in meine schöne literatur, in die von mir bevorzugte literaturart, warum drängt es mich, solche texte außerhalb des magischen kreises zu sehen, sie auszuweisen, abzustellen, beiseitezurücken. eine entsprechung scheint mir bei roland barthes zu finden: er schreibt in seinem buch die helle kammer: 'humor mag ich weder in der musik noch in der photographie.'")

friederike mayröcker: magische blätter ii

the challenge for this year’s sfd open call is: refute mayröcker!

we are looking for short texts (maximum 1,400 characters) that engage with the genre of the joke, yet are not merely jokes but also fine literature.

hardly any other genre is as strictly defined in form as the classic joke. no other text demands such precise mastery of language, sound and rhythm as the joke. study the structure and conventions* of jokes; break down existing jokes into their constituent parts. shatter the genre of the joke from within.

at sfd, a joke means: the mere play with language.

punchline: doesn’t matter.

p.s.: for once, visual jokes are strictly forbidden this time.

*a russian, a swede and a hungarian walk into a bar, etc. 

info: the magazine will also include a selection of texts from a current sfd class on the topic, and illustrations will be by the artist collective tonto (graz).

call for text submissions

sfd& jokes 

magazine of the vienna poetry school #08

terms & conditions:

deadline for submissions: 15 june 2026

upload your texts via the online form only: https://sfd.at/en/text-submission
(one text per form – max. two submissions per person!)

please note: text formatting (such as paragraphs) is recognised by the online form - please check the automatic email confirmation to see how your text has been submitted.

german and english contributions can be submitted.
we are looking for: jokes (literary form: open – prose, poetry, microdrama, etc.)

max. length: 1,400 characters (incl. spaces, excl. title);

the contribution must not have been published anywhere else (neither analogue nor digital) by the time sfd& witze is published. it must be free from third party rights and created by the participants themselves.
the copyright remains with the authors.
each author whose text will be published, will be contacted by sfd beforehand. he/she will receive a free copy of the magazine.
we cannot respond to requests/comments about the submitted texts.
the participants in this call automatically give permission that their texts can be published in the sfd magazine sfd& free of charge and that, if applicable, they can also be presented at a public event organised by sfd. they also give permission that their texts can be published either in part or fully on the sfd website and via social media.
by taking part in this call for text submissions the participants explicitly and automatically agree to these terms & conditions.

collage: nicolas mahler

***

sfd&-issues #01–07:

sfd& wut, sfd& gespenster, sfd& ohne netz, sfd& tiere, sfd& pataphysik, sfd& grotesk, sfd& angst

>> sfd.at/publikationen