UC Press's open-access journal, Collabra, opens for submissions

UC Press's open access (OA) journal, Collabra, has opened for submissions. Collabra is currently accepting submissions in three core fields of study: life and biomedical sciences, ecology and environmental science, and social and behavioral sciences.

Collabra lowers the barriers to open access publishing by offering a low up-front author processing charge (APC) of $875.00 and by offering a waiver fund to cover APCs for authors unable to pay. Unlike other OA journals, Collabra shares revenue with the editors and reviewers who contribute to the journal. Editors and reviewers have full control over the value they earn; they can (1) pay it forward to the "waiver fund" at Collabra, (2) pay it forward to their institution's open access fund, or (3) elect to pay themselves. As a nonprofit publisher and a member of the academic community, UC Press designed Collabra to ensure that, after publishing costs are covered, value generated by editors and reviewers is channeled back into the research community.

"It's wonderful to be open and operational after a year of planning, building, and doing a lot of talking about Collabra," says Dan Morgan, Publisher of Collabra. "I can't wait to see what choices editors and reviewers will make about the value they generate. I'm also looking forward to hearing from librarians managing open access funds who may get the chance to see money being received from a journal!"

Collabra is partnering with London-based Ubiquity Press to power its platform and editorial systems. Through this partnership, Collabra will benefit from existing scale efficiencies. It will offer:

• Articles published as and when they are finalized
• Optional open peer review
• Registered reports (forthcoming)
• Multimedia options
• Ability to comment on articles post-publication
• Social media widgets to share, export, and track comments on articles
• Transparent article-level metrics measuring number of reads, downloads, and shares

Collabra launches with a distinguished group of senior editors and editors who are organized around each of the journal's three core disciplinary areas. Each editorial team will ensure that the respective discipline has a voice at the journal. Although Collabra is a mega-journal (additional disciplinary areas will be added in future years), the aim is to foster identifiable disciplinary communities under the overarching Collabra banner and values.

Senior editors for ecology and environmental science are Erica Fleishman, UC Davis, USA; Oliver Pergams, City Colleges of Chicago, USA; and Murray Rudd, University of York, UK. Senior editors for the life and biomedical sciences are Maryann Martone, UC San Diego, USA, and Rich Schneider, UC San Francisco, USA. Senior editors for the social and behavioral sciences are Rolf Zwaan, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Simine Vazire, UC Davis, USA.

Senior Editor Rolf Zwaan comments, "I am very excited about my involvement with Collabra! I am looking forward to working with a cadre of excellent editors who are committed to openness and innovation in the scientific review process. This is exactly what the field needs right now. There are clear benefits for authors--a transparent review process, the forthcoming option to preregister articles--as well as benefits for reviewers and handling editors, such as being recognized for their work in new ways that can benefit the larger research community."

Provided by University of California Press