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sinθ magazine is an international, print-based creative arts magazine by and for the sino diaspora, est. 2016.
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$Egrets wade across a rippling lake. Rows of apartments unfurl on islands and mountainsides, while boxes of plastic dolls line shelves at the mall. Everywhere, valorations of thinness prosper—disappear here. Dust dances. In our previous issue, we gathered interpretations of “ VAST 大”. Now, we turn to minutiae; these are the details that add up to our world and our lives, in the contemporary moment. This issue features the winners and shortlistees from our eighth annual writing contest, judged this year by John Yau and Jeremy Tiang. Order now via the link in our bio 💧 In the issue: — Editor Yue Chen @submediant and Dr. Lee Ann S. Wang discuss abolitionism and Asian American studies in the context of Wang’s new book The Violence of Protection (Duke University Press). — Our Interviews Editor Chi S. Tsu @chi.s.writes speaks to @divyamaniar about Maniar's debut novel, After Care (Verve, 2026), tracing the book’s inspirations and character motivations. — Poet Dong Li @poetdongli in conversation with Editor Erika Jing @erikajxw and Jing Yuan about family memory, language and translation. — Designer Katherine Ju meets mixed media artist @josephni.art to talk through ideas of queer liminality and Chinese cultural philosophy. — Staff Contributor J Wu @silkkat renders the world of basketball into illustration; Editor Eli Hsieh @midgirlsummer’s photograph transports us to a world of gray. — New poems by @celaxie, Bruce Elvin and Jia Hui Lee are each sharply evocative in their own way, responding to movie scenes and memories. — Shui-yin Sharon Yam @yamsandchips asks readers to trace a path upwards through a poem’s lilting language, “in search of home”. — “My First Story” by Toku @toku.days traverses family memory through expressive, thoughtful prose. — Poetry contest winner Tina Li @suspiciouslyasian captures—and refractures—modernity with propulsive rhythm in “Indirect States of Address”. — Fiction contest winner Amy Chu @camoot.journal diagnoses contemporary dating in “Springtime in Abington”, told through effective, listless narration. Front cover by Miki Wong @m.w____dsgn. Back cover by Eli Hsieh. by @sinethetamag$

STAFF LETTER: FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA

Palestine will be free. The Sine Theta team expresses explicit solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement, with Palestinians in Palestine and in the diaspora. Whilst governments, corporations, and media and arts organisations remain complicit in the ongoing genocide, the world is watching and organising.

A text-accessible version of this statement is available via alt text. This statement served as our editorial letter for #29 “SOUR 酸” on behalf of all current staff members. by @sinethetamag

We have an exciting update—now, you can buy digital issues of Sine Theta on our gumroad page: sinetheta.gumroad.com

Excluding the most recent release, all back issues will be available for purchase, and new issues will be updated with each release cycle. Digital issues are $8.88 USD each. Thank you for supporting us as we offer new ways to access the magazine! by @sinethetamag

The sinθ team is excited to present our nominees for the Genrepunk Editor's Choice Award, the Genrepunk Award for Disabled Creatives, and the Genrepunk Haunting Award!❣️

Our Genrepunk Editor's Choice Award nominees are:
— Sarah Chin @sarah_chinchilla for "Central Planning", published in sinθ 35 and edited by Erika Jing
— Christie Chiu @c_________ec for "Gong Gong lives behind my eyes", published in sinθ 36 and edited by Yue Chen
— Dana Chiueh @danachewy for "WE JUST WENT TO THE LAND GOOGLE HAD GIVEN US", published in sinθ 36

Our Genrepunk Award for Disabled Creatives nominees are:
— Jess Huan Hu @jesshuanhu for "Coronation Day", published in sinθ 35
— Rona Luo @pomelolo for "my life as silver", published in sinθ 35
— Stephen Yang @stephenyangwrites for "Yangtze Blindings", published in sinθ 37 and edited by Jiaqi Kang

Our Genrepunk Haunting Award nominees are:
— Wu Liangyu @wulyyy_ for "Junebug", published in sinθ 36
— Jessica Yim @jyexpiredart for "The Ag(new) Clinic", published in sinθ 36
— J Wu @silkkat for "Apsara over the city", published in sinθ 37

Thank you all for sharing your work with us, and good luck!!💌

Graphics by @mackenzieduann. by @sinethetamag

The sinθ team is excited to share our nominee for Best Small Fictions 2027!

Congratulations to Chrystal Ho @chrysrambles, whose story "Fourth Sister's Dream" was published in sinθ #36 and edited by Erika Jing. Thank you for sharing your work with us, and good luck! ❣️

Graphic by @mackenzieduann. by @sinethetamag

Congratulations to the 2026 winners of sinθ’s annual writing contest: Amy Chu and Tina Li!

⭐️ The short fiction winner is Amy Chu, for “Springtime in Abington”. Fiction judge @jeremy_tiang said: "Wry and quietly nihilistic, 'Springtime in Abington' captures the textureless despair and seeming futility that characterises so much of contemporary life. Its acerbic depiction of one individual's struggle to lead a meaningful existence glimmers with spiky observation and mordant wit. A deceptively deadpan story with turbulent currents lurking just beneath its surface."

⭐️ The poetry winner is Tina Li, for "Indirect States of Address". Poetry judge John Yau @jyauwriter said: "'Indirect States of Address' is a whirlwind of connections and disconnections, jumping with the cacophonous music of being alive in the global world, its fast-food outlets established in every corner of the world, at once familiar and depressing. The poet is alert to the procession of the momentary, its intimations of importance, knowing it will all pass into the trash bin of tomorrow, and never devolves into cynicism or feelings of superiority. The beauty of this poem is synonymous with the poet’s openness to the disposable world."

Thank you from the sinθ team to our judges and all those who submitted! The winning pieces will be published in sinθ #38 "TINY 小" on October 18.

This contest is made possible through the support of our Patreon community. If you can, please consider supporting us through the link in our bio.

Graphic by @mackenzieduann. by @sinethetamag

中秋节快乐!! The sinθ team wishes you a very happy Mid-Autumn Festival!!🥮🌕🐇💌

May the round moon bring you closer to your loved ones and shower your path with blessings.

Design by @mackenzieduann by @sinethetamag

We are thrilled to share the shortlist for sinθ's 8th annual writing competition!!!

~ For prose fiction: Ken Lam [piece withdrawn], Toku, Amy Chu

~ For poetry: Shui-yin Sharon Yam, Tina Li, Jia Hui Lee, Cela Xiè, Bruce Elvin

Our judges this year are Jeremy Tiang for prose fiction and John Yau for poetry. The judges will choose the winning work in each category.

Thank you to everyone who submitted, and congratulations to the shortlisted writers! All shortlisted works will be published in sinθ #38 "TINY 小", to be released on October 18 2026

This contest is made possible for the eighth(!) year in a row through the help of our Patreon community. If you can, please consider supporting us for as little as 1 USD a month.

Graphic by Mackenzie Duan. by @sinethetamag

Come and celebrate sinθ #37: “VAST 大” together with a free Zoom reading event!

Hear from issue contributors Lena Li, Xinyi Wang, Olivia Sio Tse, and Lavinia Liang.

This event will be held at 4pm ET on Sunday, August 9.

August 9: 1pm PT / 3pm CT / 9pm BST / 10pm CET
August 10: 4am China time / 6am AEST
Register through Google Forms via the link in our bio.

Sine Theta Magazine is a print creative arts magazine by and for the Sino diaspora. Consider supporting us at patreon.com/sinetheta.

Graphic by @juliaa_cheng! by @sinethetamag

In the sprawling streets of the big city, a storm brews. In our 37th issue “VAST 大”, we venture to explore vastness in an issue that spans continents and car trips. What can we uncover from the world around us? What do we leave behind?

In the issue:

— In London, Interviews Editor Chi S. Tsu @chi.s.writes speaks to debut novelist Stacey Yu @stace.yyu about Yu’s book Kitten (@sceptrebooks) and the desire to prolong childhood.
— In New York, Chi S. Tsu visits chef and food journalist Annie Faye Cheng @achg.kitchen for a discussion spanning from Cheng’s evolving career to analyses of restaurant culture and food labor.
— Editor Yue Chen @submediant and Northwestern University academic Michelle N. Huang exchange a thought-provoking conversation about Asian American studies and Huang’s new work Racial Beings (Duke University Press).
— Editor-in-chief Jiaqi Kang @ilikejunejordan sits down on call with multimedia artist Maggie Wong @memaggiemei to talk about memory, language, activism, and materiality.
— Xinyi Wang transports us to Jiangxi in “Grey Starlings”, a short story of childhood grief; Lavinia Liang’s “Wenyuan Alley” is alive with sensory imagery as an aunt returns to China after time abroad.
— Winifred Mok’s found poem reimagines space and landscape with text about the Antarctic
— Lena Li traces familial rhythms and mourning rituals.
— New poetry by Olivia Sio Tse, Nora Sun and Helen Gu captures moving, quietly evocative tableaus, conjuring ‘water rings on wood’, ‘June bug carcasses’, and ‘coagulated interstates’.
— In “Yangtze Blindings”, Stephen Yang measures memory in terms of shifting rivers.
— New art from @jesshuanhu bursts with color and texture.
— Staff contributor Juliette J Wu @silkkat illustrates a striking cityscape viewed on high in new digital work “Apsara Over the City”.

Cover by designer Dorcas Lim @flashnowhatetomoz. by @sinethetamag

The sinθ team is excited to present our nominees for Best Single Poem - Written & Best New Poets 2026 ❣️

Our Best Single Poem nominees are:
— Rona Luo for "my life as silver", published in sinθ #35
— Lydia Wei @999orangejuice for "Chaoyang", published in sinθ #34 and edited by Yue Chen
— @alenazeng for "Gathering Data", published in sinθ #36 and edited by Erika Jing

Our Best New Poets nominees are:
— @celaxie for "代臆 I Wrote Not from Muroday to Warnight", published in sinθ #34 and edited by Yue Chen
— @alenazeng for sequence "I. Self portrait as language model", "II. Self portrait as translated output from a language model", "III. Self portrait as translation in the familiar language", published in sinθ #36

Thank you all for sharing your work with us, and good luck!!

Graphic by @carolinemiaow. by @sinethetamag