Press Release 9/30/25: Three New Journals

Stanford University Press + Public Knowledge Project Add Three Journals to Collaborative Open Access Journal Publishing Program

Stanford, CA: September 30, 2025: Stanford University Press and Public Knowledge Project (SUP+PKP) are pleased to announce the launch of three new journals in their open access program, bringing the total number of SUP+PKP titles to four.

SUP’s journals program was launched in 2023 in collaboration with the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) at Stanford and Simon Fraser University. Beginning with journals led by editors and boards who have resigned en masse from commercially published journals, and acquiring an additional journal from Elsevier, SUP is helping bring journal publishing back to the nonprofit academic sector.

Biogeography (BIOG) is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles ranging from biological work that is geographically situated to geographical work that is biologically relevant. It was founded by the former chief and associate editors of a leading journal in the field, board members of a related scholarly society, and other prominent academics, in response to growing dissatisfaction with the commercially driven practices of for-profit publishers. As a new publication, Biogeography is academic-owned, researcher-run, nonprofit, and diamond open access—freely available to readers worldwide, with no submission fees or author publishing charges.

“We are delighted to be partnering with SUP+PKP to realize our shared vision for affordable, constructive, high-quality scientific publishing that supports all of our research communities’ interests,” says Michael N Dawson, Chief Editor of Biogeography. The journal can be accessed online at https://biog.journals.sup.org, where submissions are now open. Pre-submission inquiries may be sent to biogeographyjfab@gmail.com.

Population Biology Modeling & Theory (PBMT) is a peer-reviewed journal reporting advances in modeling and theory within population biology. Its scope spans demography, ecology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, and phylogenetics. In addition to original research articles, PBMT publishes commentaries, scholarly reviews, software notes, and pedagogical articles. Owned by the new Society for Modeling & Theory in Population Biology and published by SUP, PBMT promotes researcher-run, society-owned, nonprofit scholarly publishing. PBMT launches as an open access publication free to authors and readers.

“We are delighted to launch PBMT with Stanford University Press and the Public Knowlewdge Project,” says Editor-in-Chief Noah Rosenberg of Stanford University. “Mathematical models that describe conditions under which cooperation can evolve are a touchstone for our branch of science. The SUP+PKP collaborative open access approach has an elegance that population biology modelers will appreciate.” PBMT will be online soon. Inquiries should be sent to info@smtpb.org.

The Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Advances in the Clinical Lab (JMSACL) joins SUP as an established publication launched in 2016 under the title Clinical Mass Spectrometry and renamed to its current title in 2021. JMSACL is a comprehensive journal focused on innovations in diagnostic technologies within clinical environments, championing research that translates into meaningful improvements in patient care. Published by Elsevier through the end of the year, JMSACL is the first existing journal to transition from a commercial publisher to SUP’s nonprofit program and will officially reside on SUP+PKP’s Open Journal Systems starting January 1, 2026.

“We’re thrilled to be joining Stanford University Press’s nonprofit publishing program and to participate in the S2O initiative,” says Chris Herold, Managing editor of JMSACL. “Moving JMSACL from a commercial publisher to an academic-led, open access model reflects our commitment to advancing scientific communication in ways that prioritize accessibility, equity, and impact. The S2O program allows us to maintain rigorous standards while ensuring that cutting-edge research in clinical mass spectrometry reaches the widest possible audience without barriers for authors or readers.”

The three scientific journals join SUP+PKP’s first journal,Reviews of Economic Literature (REL), which launched earlier this year and can be accessed at https://rel.journals.sup.org.

While all four journals are launched open access through Gates Foundation funding, and by funding secured by individual journals, continued open access will be supported through the Subscribe to Open (S2O) model, with subscription services managed by Knowledge Unlatched.

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Stanford University Press publishes 140 books a year across the humanities, social sciences, law, and business. These books inform scholarly debate, generate global and cross-cultural discussion, and bring timely, peer-reviewed scholarship to the wider reading public. At the leading edge of both print and digital dissemination of innovative research, with about 4,000 books currently in print, SUP is a publisher of ideas that matter, books that endure. In 2023, Stanford University Press inaugurated its journals program by partnering with the Public Knowledge Project, and launched its first journal, Reviews of Economic Literature, in 2025.

The Public Knowledge Project is a Core Facility of Simon Fraser University that has, since 1998, been developing open source (free) publishing platforms, providing publishing services to journals and publishers, and conducting scholarly communication research, all to improve access to research and scholarship. PKP’s work is financed by its services, memberships, and grants, with its open source software benefiting from the larger community’s contributions.

Knowledge Unlatched (KU) is a nonprofit global initiative that facilitates open access to academic books and journals through collaborative funding models. Parent Organization Annual Reviews is a nonprofit organization that synthesizes and integrates knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society. It serves interconnected communities within scholarly communications: researchers, informed citizens, and librarians, publishers, and vendors. 

To learn more about participation in SUP’s new journals series, reach out to John Willinsky, willinsk@stanford.edu

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