The literary output of Konrad Bayer is by no means extensive. Between 1955, when he wrote what he called his "erste halbwegs brauchbare geschichte" (first halfway useful story), "der capitän" (the captain, 1966), until his suicide in 1964, Bayer produced only two major works, the "portrait in prose" der kopf des vitus bering (1965; translated as The Head of Vitus Bering, 1979) and the incomplete novel "der sechste sinn" (the sixth sense, 1966), both of which appeared posthumously. The remainder and by far the largest part of his work consists of shorter experimental pieces, many of which were not published until his collected works came out in 1977.

Bayer saw only a few of his writings appear in print during his lifetime: two collaborative works with fellow members of the "Wiener Gruppe" (Vienna Group), starker toback: kleine fibel für den ratlosen (strong tobacco: little primer for the perplexed, 1962), with Oswald Wiener...