Open Access / Non-Open Access
The IMISCOE Research Series includes books in Open Access as well as non-Open Access books. The choice for having a book published in OA or not is made by the authors. Open Access books are available free of charge via the IMISCOE and Springer websites (Golden Open Access). OA is expected to become the standard in academic publishing, as it enables the widest possible access to your work. On average, OA books on SpringerLink are downloaded 10 times more and cited 2.4 times more than non-OA books. For more information regarding the benefits of publishing a book in Open Access, please visit this dedicate page on the Springer Nature website.
IMISCOE Funding Policy for Open Access
As part of our strong commitment to knowledge dissemination, we encourage Open Access publications in the IMISCOE Research Series by providing different subsidies to cover the OA fees.
Every year, IMISCOE launches two Competitive Calls for Book Proposals: one in April (Call closes on 15 April 2025; results to be announced within 8-10 weeks after the end of the Call) and one in October (Call closes on 1 November 2025; results to be announced within 8-10 weeks after the end of the Call). Each Competitive Call awards three winners, who will benefit from the possibility of publishing their Monographs or Edited Volumes at a highly discounted OA fee when compared to the standard Book Publishing Charge for OA publications with Springer Nature. This already reduced fee shall be further discounted by 30% for manuscripts whose authors or editors are affiliated to IMISCOE Member Institutes (for multi-authored or edited books, at least one of the authors or editors must be affiliated to an IMISCOE Member Institute). This additional discount of 30% shall not apply for books that are wholly or largely the outcome of a research project that includes funding for OA publications.
In addition, IMISCOE also offers a full OA fee waiver for the winner of the Maria Ioannis Baganha Distinguished Dissertation Annual Award. The Call for Applications for this Award is launched in September-October each year and the winner is announced by June of the following year. The competition is open to all interested candidates, whether they are based at an IMISCOE Member Institute or not.
All submissions of book proposals for the IMISCOE Research Series must be done within the scope and timeline of the above-mentioned Calls (submissions are not possible on an ongoing basis, outside the scope of these Calls). To submit your book proposal for a Competitive Call, please use
document
this IMISCOE Book Proposal form
(35 KB)
. Please submit your book proposal, saved as a word file, by email to Irina Isaakyan,
The current IMISCOE sponsoring policy is valid until 31/12/2025, subject to yearly revisions after this date. For further information on the OA fees and IMISCOE subsidies for publishing in OA, please contact the IMISCOE Network Office at:
Peer review
All book proposals submitted to the Annual Competitive Calls will be carefully evaluated by the Editorial Committee and peer-reviewed by independent reviewers. If the outcome of the evaluation is positive, you will be invited to submit your full Manuscript which will be rigorously reviewed by an EC member and an external reviewer. All manuscripts submitted for publication in the IMISCOE Research series are scrutinised in a formal, international refereeing process designed to ensure that the series continues to represent excellent academic standards and scholarly quality.
Editing and copy-editing
Neither Springer nor the IMISCOE Network Office provides editing (copy-editing nor language editing) services. This means that the final revision of a manuscript that has already been accepted for publication by the IMISCOE Editorial Committee must ultimately be submitted in a ready-for-production state. Authors are encouraged to find trusted professional editors for any necessary assistance.