Open from October 20, 2026 - January 7, 2027
We’re seeking submissions by students, scholars, and practitioners of creative writing—including novelists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, television writers, essayists, and writers working in emerging or interdisciplinary forms of storytelling. We especially welcome submissions from writers and artists with demonstrated experience and/or success in their craft. We’re interested in how writers and storytellers across genres and media make creative choices that shape their work and engage audiences.
Successful submissions help our readers better understand how stories are made. Submissions should offer more than an interpretation of a text. They should examine a specific craft technique, creative process, genre, medium, or artistic practice; analyze how a writer or work achieves a particular effect; or place creative practices in conversation with other questions in the field of creative writing, publication, and/or production.
We welcome well-written and thoughtful work that is accessible to readers at all stages of their writing career.
Submissions should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words (please state word count at the top of your document on page 1), including Works Cited and endnotes (no footnotes), in 12 pt Times New Roman. Please include a separate 100-word abstract.
MLA Style citation form only. Limited use of endnotes is permitted.
By submitting to Sine Qua Non, you affirm:
Please include a cover letter with your submission and very brief third-person bio. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we will ask for first North American publication rights. Following publication, all rights revert to the Author; we do ask that you credit Sine Qua Non as the place your work first appeared.
No changes are allowed to your work once submitted. You may withdraw and resubmit during the submission window.
Due to resource constraints, we reserve the right to close submissions once we receive 50 submissions.
We accept simultaneous submissions provided:
(1) you advise us that you are submitting elsewhere at the time you submit to us; and
(2) if your work is accepted elsewhere, you advise us immediately via email to info@thesinequanon.com
(3) You may submit only ONCE to each category.
Sine Qua Non publishes the following genres: Poetry and Creative Prose (fiction, creative nonfiction, flash fiction).
Please submit your work for consideration using the buttons at the bottom of this page.
(Note: prize submission requirements may differ and submission windows vary. See Prizes .)
By submitting to sine qua non, you affirm:
creative prose
15 pages or less
double-spaced
standard 1" margins on all sides
12 pt Times New Roman
state word count at the top of page 1
state genre at the top of page 1 (e.g. creative fiction, CNF, etc.)
multi-lingual submissions are welcome, but
should be targeted to English-language readers
poetry
3 poems per submission maximum
ten total pages maximum
12 pt Times New Roman
each poem MUST begin on a new page
multi-lingual submissions are welcome, but
should be targeted to English-language readers
Please include a cover letter with your submission and very brief third-person bio. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we will ask for first North American publication rights. Following publication, all rights revert to the Author; we do ask that you credit Sine Qua Non as the place your work first appeared.
No changes are allowed to your work once submitted. You may withdraw and resubmit during the submission window.
Due to resource constraints, we reserve the right to close submissions once we receive 150 submissions (i.e. 150 poetry; 150 creative prose).
We accept simultaneous submissions provided:
(1) you advise us that you are submitting elsewhere at the time you submit to us; and
(2) if your work is accepted elsewhere, you advise us immediately via email to info@thesinequanon.com
(3) You may submit only ONCE to each category.
Sine Qua Non