OLH welcomes Medieval Sermon Studies

We are pleased to welcome another journal to our portfolio, Medieval Sermon Studies, which is moving from Taylor & Francis to the Open Library of Humanities and will be published under a diamond open access model.

Medieval Sermon Studies is an international, peer-reviewed journal published annually under the auspices of the International Medieval Sermon Studies Society (IMSSS, https://imsss.net/). The journal publishes high-quality, original research with a focus on the study of medieval sermons in Latin, Eastern languages, and vernaculars. Articles in the journal place sermons in their social, literary, religious, intellectual, theological, catechetical, political and historical contexts. Medieval Sermon Studies also publishes on the theory of preaching and artes praedicandi, on the application of sermons as sources in the development of literary and cultural theory, on the reception of medieval preaching, and on research traditions into sermon studies. 

The journal looks beyond Christian homiletic traditions to include also Jewish and Muslim traditions of preaching. While its focus is on the Middle Ages, adjoining periods, from Late Antiquity to the sixteenth and seventeenth century are also included. In addition to research articles, the journal also publishes book reviews and editions of sermons, as well as the occasional report about a conference or research project. It is an essential resource not only for sermon specialists but also for researchers working in the fields of religious culture, history, theology, philosophy, and literature. 

Medieval Sermon Studies was first published in 1977 as the Medieval Sermon Studies Newsletter. In 1988, it became a fully-fledged scholarly journal, published bi-annually until 1999. It became known as Medieval Sermon Studies in 1991. From 2003, it was published by W.S. Maney & Son Ltd. (Leeds). In 2015, W.S. Maney & Son Ltd. was acquired by Taylor & Francis. Since then, the journal has been published by Taylor & Francis under a hybrid model.

The journal is international in its content, with articles published not only in English and French, but also in Italian, German, and Spanish, and in the diverse geographical spectrum of its authors and editorial board. The journal is a staple in the field and the recognized flagship of a strong and close-knit scholarly community, the International Medieval Sermon Studies Society. As such, it combines a solid academic foundation with a reputation for approachability.

Additionally, and crucially, Medieval Sermon Studies is at the forefront of translating and analysing sermons that engage with gender, especially regarding women's roles in preaching history, providing valuable insights into medieval conceptions of gender roles. This emphasis on gender-focused scholarship addresses contemporary academic priorities and highlights the journal's commitment to inclusivity and relevance.

OLH’s Executive Director, Professor Caroline Edwards commented: “It’s fantastic to welcome Medieval Sermon Studies (MSS) to the OLH. MSS was originally published by an independent, family-run publisher that was subsequently acquired by the Informa group. Like so many journals in this situation, MSS has decided to leave commercial publishing behind so that its authors and editors could be better supported by a non-profit, commmunity-governed model. We’re delighted that OLH’s library members have made this transition posible and are excited to work with the MSS team moving forwards.”

Dr Shari Boodts, editor of Medieval Sermon Studies added: “In joining the OLH we feel like we have won a much-coveted prize. More and more research funders require immediate Open Access publishing of research output – no embargo period, no article processing fees. This is especially hard on early career scholars, for whom publications in established and discipline-specific journals are very important. With this transition to Diamond Open Access, made possible by the OLH’s ambitious and future-oriented model, Medieval Sermon Studies hopes to inspire other editorial boards to take the leap and serve the changing needs of their communities.”

The Open Library of Humanities is proud to provide the long-term funding and support needed to bring this journal into diamond open access. This signals a new era for Medieval Sermon Studies as a contributor to a more equitable and inclusive scholarly community. This support is made possible by the library supporters who collectively support the OLH.

The journal is now open for article submissions ahead of its launch at the OLH in January 2027. Visit the new webpage here: https://mss-journal.org/ 

About OLH: The Open Library of Humanities is an award-winning, academic-led publisher of 37 diamond open access journals based at Birkbeck, University of London. With initial funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and subsequent support from Arcadia, a charitable fund, the platform covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium rather than any author fee. This funding mechanism enables equitable open access in the humanities disciplines, with charges neither to readers nor authors. 

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