Publish Peer-Reviewed Open Access Books through Kriterium

← Part of the Open Access Guide

Kriterium is a national platform that offers researchers a way to publish peer-reviewed open access monographs in collaboration with a publisher. It complements the publisher's own editorial process with independent peer review, open access publication, and dissemination.

Organisation: Kriterium is a non-commercial national collaboration between universities, publishers, and the National Library of Sweden, supported by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ).

Publishing model: Kriterium is a platform for the review, publication, and dissemination of high-quality scholarly books. Through a documented peer-review process, books can receive Kriterium certification and be published open access in collaboration with a publisher.

What can you publish through Kriterium?

Publication type: Scholarly monographs and edited volumes (anthologies).

Eligibility: Researchers at any university or higher education institution, working in collaboration with a publisher.

Primary focus: Researchers and research connected to Sweden.

Output: Around 10–15 monographs are published each year.

Why publish through Kriterium?

• Open access: makes the digital version of the book openly accessible, helping authors meet open access requirements while increasing visibility through the Kriterium website and platforms such as OAPEN, DOAB, and JSTOR.
• Peer review: enhances the scholarly quality of the book through a structured and transparent peer-review process. The review process is designed both to improve the manuscript through expert feedback and to certify that the final publication meets recognised scholarly standards. Kriterium functions as a recognised mark of quality for books that successfully complete this process.
• Persistent identifiers (DOIs): Books published through Kriterium receive a DOI, and in edited volumes individual chapters receive their own DOI. DOIs provide permanent links that support citation, discovery, and long-term accessibility.

The process

1. Preparing for Submission

• The author (or the editor of an anthology) contacts a publisher and decides, together with the publisher, whether to submit the manuscript to Kriterium for review.
• The manuscript does not need to be fully completed when it is submitted to Kriterium.

2. Submission & Reviewer Selection

• The publisher submits a proposal to Kriterium describing the work and its academic relevance. Kriterium’s academic review board assesses the proposal and the proposed academic co-ordinator.
• If the proposal is approved, the publisher submits the manuscript to Kriterium’s digital review platform. The academic co-ordinator, in consultation with the review board, appoints two mutually independent reviewers with relevant expertise.

3. Peer Review & Revision

• The manuscript undergoes either double-blind or single-blind review. Reviewers may recommend revisions or that the manuscript not be accepted for publication.
• The author revises the manuscript in consultation with the academic co-ordinator. Further rounds of review and revision may take place if necessary.
• Kriterium assesses the review process, the revisions and the resulting manuscript before deciding whether to approve the book for publication.

More about the Kriterium peer review process

4. Approval & Publication

• If the manuscript meets Kriterium’s quality requirements, it is approved for publication. The book is formally published by the publisher or publication series and through Kriterium.
• The digital version is made available as open access through the Kriterium platform.
• If the manuscript is not approved by Kriterium, it may still be published by the publisher without Kriterium involvement.

How long does it take?

The review process may vary depending on how many revisions are required, but the objective is for the review process to take no more than three months, in addition to the overall production time of the book.

What about costs?

If a manuscript is approved for publication, Kriterium currently covers the following costs:

• compensation for reviewers and academic co-ordinators
• the production and publication of the electronic version of the book

The publisher remains responsible for the publication of the book, including the production and distribution of any printed edition. Other publishing-related costs may also be the responsibility of the publisher and/or author, depending on the publishing agreement.

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