The Posthuman Author: From Pen to Prompt in Contemporary Creative Writing

This paper examines the transformation of creative writing in the age of generative artificial intelligence through the concept of the posthuman author. As writing practices shift from traditional composition toward prompt-based interaction with AI systems, questions surrounding authorship, creativity, and agency acquire renewed significance. Drawing on key theoretical debates about authorship and posthumanism, the study argues that AI does not replace the human writer but reconfigures creative practice into a collaborative and technologically mediated process. Through analysis of contemporary writing practices and recent survey data on AI use among students, the paper explores how writers increasingly employ AI for brainstorming, research assistance, and refinement rather than full content generation. This pattern suggests that human intention and interpretive judgment remain central to creative production. The posthuman author is therefore understood as a figure who navigates a dynamic relationship between imagination and algorithmic suggestion, exercising agency through selection, curation, and ethical responsibility. Rather than signaling the end of authorship, the movement from pen to prompt represents an evolution in how creative agency is practiced within contemporary literary culture.