Join the publishing revolution.
Our mission is to support and extend open access to scholarship in the humanities by bringing journals back into community ownership.
We welcome expressions of interest from subscription-based journals interested in moving to diamond open access.
As a diamond open-access publisher, we will never demand any payments from your authors. When you join the OLH, we commit to publishing your journal on our platform in perpetuity.
Prestigious, community-minded publishing.
Since 2013, the OLH has become one of the most prestigious diamond open-access publishers of humanities journals. If your application is successful, you will become part of a powerful global community of like-minded scholars who are using open access to address structural inequalities within our disciplines. We focus on community ownership and not-for-profit principles, standing against commercial acquisition by publishers preoccupied with their own profit margins. You can read more about our sector-leading standards for preservation, discoverability and governance by downloading our Journals Brochure.
Our publishing model is built on the concept of migrating titles from commercial publishers to enable journals to publish open access. Our tech team have years of experience developing the bespoke technical tools required to make the move from your previous publisher happen smoothly.
How to apply.
We consider applications from subscription journals that want to become open access, without author fees. We also welcome expressions of interest from high-profile titles without secure funding that are looking for a sustainable future.
Journals should also be:
- Peer-reviewed (including double- and single-anonymous and open peer review)
- Established, with an archive of at least five years
- Based in a humanities or humanities-related social sciences discipline
- Internationally recognised, with a geographically diverse editorial board
If you feel your journal fits the above criteria and you are interested in applying to join the Open Library of Humanities, please download and complete our journal application form.
Applications are reviewed periodically by our OLH Editorial Board in a competitive process. If your application passes the first stage, we will send the application to external review. This will require full access to the journal archives for peer reviewers to complete their assessment.
Update 02 May 2025 - Applications are NOW CLOSED until January 2026.
Explore our poster series.
As part of our academic advocacy, the OLH has produced a series of posters highlighting different aspects of our publishing – including journal flipping.
Each poster is dedicated to a different historical period and style which pays tribute to the range of humanities scholarship that the OLH publishes in its journals.
Please feel free to download and use these posters to inspire discussion or promote open access!
