opencall6 — Shoebox Magazine

Shoebox #6 — Hardcore

Between the 22nd and 25th of May 2026, Shoebox Magazine will participate in Human Resources., a group show at De Stadswacht, a new artist-run space in The Hague, The Netherlands. For this show, we will release our sixth issue, dedicated to the written word.

With our baseless, do-it-as-you-go approach to self-publishing, we are continuously confronted with the challenges of physical distance. We can’t always offer readings or events to enable our contributors’ voices, and as we embark on Shoebox #6 we ask ourselves: What does presence mean in a magazine that is ‘international’ and not bound to one location, language or theme? How do we move beyond the process of simply collecting submissions, designing, printing and distributing? And what can our magazine offer its contributors beyond the printed page?

For Shoebox #6 — Hardcore, we wish to work through this tension by bringing text beyond the page and into the digital. Selected contributions will be presented at Human Resources., both in print and as a video installation of readings by the authors in their texts’ original language, together with subtitles in English.

Our open call focuses on medium-length (~1000-5000 words) pieces of text: short stories, essays, drama, research, book chapters, a longer poem or anything else rooted in writing. In traditional Shoebox-style, exact specifications are left open, but make sure that it’s hardcore.

Please send your text to magazineshoebox@gmail.com in PDF format by the 20th of April 2026 along with your full name and title of your work. The text can be something already written, or something you are working on currently.

If selected, you will be asked to submit a video reading of that same text. This can take the shape of a simple phone recording, an intricate performance or video essay, to be shown on one of six TV screens at Human Resources., alongside the printed issue. As we have six screens at our disposal, we will select six texts for this issue.

We welcome writing in any language. If your submission is not in English, please indicate whether you would like to translate it yourself (experimentally or otherwise), or if you would like for us to arrange a translation so that the piece can be presented side-by-side in its original language and in English. We are ourselves capable of translating into English from Swedish and Arabic.

Please keep in mind that we are a small team and that Shoebox is self-funded, so we may not be able to accommodate all special requests. We read all submissions thoroughly and will reach out to all submitters shortly after the deadline.

Select contributors will receive three copies of this issue. We will also arrange documentation of the installation for contributors who are not able to attend the physical event.

Medium-length text (roughly 1000-5000 words) for Shoebox #6 — Hardcore
Submissions to magazineshoebox@gmail.com by the 20th of April 2026 together with title and your full name
Short stories, essays, drama, research, book chapters, a longer poem or anything else rooted in writing
In any language. Is it translated? Send us both versions. If not, please provide some extra info about the text and how you would like to see it translated for Shoebox #6
To get a feel for Shoebox and what we do, have a look at the online PDFs of past issues on our website
If selected, you will be asked to submit a video reading of your text to be showcased at Human Resources. in May. This can take the shape of a phone-recording, a webcammed video, an intricate performance shot on camera, a video essay or in any way that fits your idea