davem, you are assuming that everything that is not specifically mentioned does not exist. I have heard that kind of argumentation in other contexts (church doctrine, for example: "Since musical instruments aren't specifically mentioned in the New Testament and our church is patterned on the NT church, we shall have no musical instruments in our worship services.") Tolkien's created world is not so detailed that we are told everything about it, and his attitude would certainly leave leeway for sub-creation. We simply do not know the fictional works of Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits - and Men.
I think Manwe Sulimo brought up a very important point with the absence of the printing press in M-E. Widespread distribution of fictional works is certainly dependent on a mass reproduction method. Without that, written works, fictional and factual, are a luxury for the rich and learned.
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
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