the sine qua non is a scholarly and creative journal focused on creative writing theory and practice.
What differentiates us from other journals is one foundational philosophical principle:
We believe that the proper object of literary theory is the author.
We believe the act of creation is unique, special, privileged, and merits study.
We believe that something magical happens the moment an author decides a text is complete and abandons it to the world—an act of creation occurs, and in that one moment, the text closes.
We believe that it is the “reader” who is in flux, ever-changing, mysterious, unknowable, and open.
We believe that excessive focus by literary scholars on the reader and the text at the expense of the author is misguided and has resulted in a neglect of the study of the creative process.
Our goal is to foment research focusing on the act of literary creation, on theorizing regarding how literature is made, how the creation of literature can be taught, and what constitutes literature, good writing, aesthetic value.
The author is the sin qua non, that without which literature would not exist.
This journal was created to publish scholarly works that study and empower authors, authorial intention, and the creative writing process as well as to feature creative works that are different, exciting, transgressive, subtle, unique. And, of course, to celebrate creators.