Open Access
At Nomos Publishing, we believe that everyone should have access to knowledge. Manuscripts that are published on the Open Access network are reviewed for academic excellence and quality just the same as manuscripts that are sent to print. By allowing scholars from all corners of the research community, as well as readers outside of academic contexts, to partake in research discussions and engage with works that they would not ordinarily have access to, vital research is disseminated swifter, speeding up the possibility of new discoveries and important innovations.
Open Access Matters
Open Access is inclusive. By making research available to anyone and everyone, it reaches people who may have brilliant ideas but not the means to expand on these ideas and refine them. It allows for greater diversity in conversations and richer discussions by connecting researchers, policy makers, practitioners and the general public alike. Authors who publish their research on Open Access have the chance to make a significant contribution to the research community and play an essential role in the advancement of human knowledge.
Publication Options
Nomos Publishing offers authors the choice of Gold Open Access and Diamond Open Access publishing options through the use of either our hybrid or eOnly models. Both publishing options refer to the publication of academic works as articles in journals, as monographs or as contributions to edited collections. Nomos Publishing does not offer Green Open Access publishing, i.e. publishing either preprints or postprints in a subject repository.
Quality Assurance
All works published by Nomos Publishing stand for the highest standards in academic excellence, whether in print format or digital. Our membership at Open Access Publishing in European Networks (OAPEN), an online library and publication platform that promotes and supports open access publishing, warrants our commitment to quality assurance: the stringent screening of all manuscripts and transparent peer review procedures.
Journals Published on Open Access
We are committed to the constant expansion and development of our Open Access programme. Over the years, an increasing number of acclaimed journals have been published on Open Access, including the following (all available in English):
- African Law Study Library
- Culture, Practice & Europeanization
- Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft
- Recht in Afrika/Law in Africa/Droit en Afrique
- Recht und Zugang
- Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe
- Studies in Communication and Media
- Verfassung und Recht in Übersee / World Comparative Law
- Zeitschrift für Europarechtliche Studien
These journals have been published using a Creative Commons licence, mostly under the CC-BY or CC-BY-SA licences. However, we have also granted the more restrictive CC-BY-NC-ND licence upon request. Authors whose article has been published in a subscription-based journal but who wish to make their article available to read for free may choose to “buy out” their articles. Feel free to contact us if you would like to learn more.
Books Published on Open Access
Numerous monographs and edited collections at Nomos Publishing are licensed under the Creative Commons and can be conveniently accessed at the Nomos eLibrary and the Directory of Open Access Books. When publishing books digitally, we collect and share relevant metadata (e.g. the abstract and keywords) to increase the chance of the work being picked up by search engines.
Nomos Publishing is part of the AG Universitätsverlage (in German) and, in accordance with the guild’s quality-assurance policies (in German), maintains the same standards for digital publications as for print. This includes the editing process, peer-review procedure and marketing strategies.
The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) is a community-driven discovery service that indexes and provides access to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access books and helps users to find trusted open access book publishers. All DOAB services are free of charge and all data is freely available. Nomos Publishing is permitted to publish Open Access works on the DOAB because it fulfills the criteria for quality-assurance as stipulated by the OAPEN.
Through Creative Commons licences, authors can determine how their text is made use of and shared. The majority of our Open Access publications are licensed using the CC BY and CC BY-SA. A small handful of works is licensed using the CC BY-NC-ND.
Your Options at Nomos Publishing
Hybrid Model
Print and Digital
- We bind and print your book on quality paper for easy readability
- The revenue from the sale of print copies means that less funding is required
- The digital format enables convenient access for international readers
- Learn more.
Digital Model
Digital only
- Higher citation rates due to digital access to primary and secondary sources
- The absence of printing and binding means that works are published quicker
- The digital format enables convenient access for international readers
Open Access Fees
All manuscripts that are published on Open Access undergo the same stringent peer review procedures and editorial processes. As a compensation, we charge authors a publication fee that is often assumed by a funder.
Open Access Hybrid
| Number of Pages | Law | Social Sciences and Humanities |
| 0 – 180 | 5.500 € | 5.500 € |
| 181 – 300 | 7.200 € | 5.500 € |
| 301 – 400 | 7.800 € | 6.600 € |
| 401 – 500 | 8.300 € | 7.500 € |
Open Access eOnly
| Number of Pages | Shortfall (independent of subject area) |
| 0 – 180 | 6.500 € |
| 181 – 300 | 8.300 € |
| 301 – 400 | 9.200 € |
| 401 – 500 | 10.100 € |
Open Access Grants
Many research institutes and universities now recognise the importance of publishing research on Open Access and allocate an increased amount of funding for Open Access publications. At Nomos Publishing, we assist you in selecting the right funding for you, advise you in choosing the publication format appropriate for your work and answer any questions you may have regarding Open Access and Creative Commons licences.
Public Funds
Researchers from publicly-funded research institutions in Germany or from the Max Planck Digital Library are taken into consideration when calculating the cost of publishing their works on Open Access. We encourage such persons to get in touch with our editors if they would like to learn more.
Get in touch!
We are here to assist you with any questions you might have regarding Open Access, including questions about funding options.