How to publish open access
Journals
Choose your open access type
Decide if you want to go the Gold or Green open access route. See our open access explained page to learn more about these different options.
Please note your funder may have requirements for which type of open access you use.
Select a journal
Select a journal which offers the open access option that is right for you and complies with your funder mandates. See our open access journal checklist for information on selecting a journal.
Submit your manuscript
Submit your manuscript through Editorial Manager. At revision stage, you have the option to select if you would like to publish with Gold open access. This is for administrative purposes only and will in no way influence your article’s chance of acceptance or review.
If your paper is accepted Bristol University Press will contact you to confirm if you want to publish with Gold open access.
We will also contact you if you are eligible for an APC waiver or are entitled to fee-free open access publishing as part of a Read and Publish Deal.
Publishing with Gold open access
Select your licence
If you wish to publish with Gold open access, we will ask you to select the type of Creative Commons licence you want to use. We allow publishing under all forms of Creative Commons licences, but please note that your funder may require you to publish under a specific licence.
If you are not sure which licence to choose you may find the Creative Commons Licence Chooser tool helpful. You may also want to read their licensing considerations.
You will be asked to complete an Open Access Licence Agreement and upload it via Editorial Manager.
Paying your Article Processing Charge (APC)
If you are publishing with Gold open access you will be asked to pay an Article Processing Charge. Once you have completed your Open Access Licence Agreement we will request details needed to issue you an invoice. Payment is typically made via bank transfer to the University of Bristol and full instructions will be provided on the invoice. UK customers can also pay by credit card online if they prefer, by visiting our online shop.
Don’t forget to check if you are eligible for a discounted APC. See our APC rates for more information.
Once the payment is received we will make your article available open access on Bristol University Press Digital.
Please note we are unable to process refunds for APCs, including in the event of article retraction or later removal. We do, however, ensure that Bristol University Press and Policy Press do not charge twice for the same article, and will fully refund an APC in the event of duplicate payment.
Switching to Gold open access post publication
We can make your article open access anytime upon payment of an APC. We offer a reduced APC for articles over 24 months old. To convert an existing article to gold open access, contact us at bup-journals@bristol.ac.uk.
Publishing with Green open access OA
If you would like to publish with Green open access please see our Green (self-archiving) open access policy.
Books
Choose your open access type
Decide if you want to go the Gold or Green open access route.
Please note your funder may have requirements for which type of open access you use.
Select a publisher
Select a publisher which offers the open access option that is right for you and complies with your funder mandates. You might want to consider if your chosen publisher shares the same values as you and what your research aims to achieve. Consider publishing with not-for-profit university presses. Find out more about why you should publish open access with Bristol University Press.
Submit your manuscript
Submit your manuscript to our editorial team. During your submission you have the option to select if you would like to publish with Gold open access. This is for administrative purposes only and will in no way influence your book’s chance of acceptance or review.
If your book is accepted, Bristol University Press will contact you to confirm if you want to publish with Gold open access.
We will also contact you if you are eligible for a BPC discount as part of a Read and Publish Deal.
Publishing with Gold open access
Select your licence
If you wish to publish with Gold open access, we will ask you to select the type of Creative Commons licence you want to use. We allow publishing under all forms of Creative Commons licences, but please note that your funder may require you to publish under a specific licence.
You will be asked to complete and sign your Open Access Licence Agreement.
Paying your Book Processing Charge (BPC)
If you are publishing with Gold open access, you will be asked to pay a Book Processing Charge (BPC). Once you have completed your Open Access Licence Agreement, we will request details needed to issue you an invoice.
Don’t forget to check if you are eligible for a discounted BPC. See our BPC rates for more information.
Once the payment is received, we will make your book available open access on Bristol University Press Digital, and all ebook platforms Bristol University Press is supplying their titles to.
Switching to Gold open access post publication
We can discuss making your book open access after publication, upon payment of a BPC. To convert an existing book to gold open access, contact our Open Access Commissioning Editor Rebecca Tomlinson (rebecca.tomlinson@bristol.ac.uk)
Publishing with Green open access
We facilitate Green open access routes as well as Gold. For more information, please see our Green (self-archiving) open access policy.