Publishing Policies
One set of editorial policies, every Calm Publika journal, book and proceedings volume.
These policies apply publisher-wide — every journal, book and proceedings volume we publish carries the same commitments, whatever format it takes. No exceptions by title.
Aim & Scope
Calm Publika doesn't publish under one subject-matter scope — each journal defines and holds its own aims, scope and disciplinary focus, set by its own editorial board. What's shared across every title is the editorial process below, not the subject matter.
The same applies to each book — scope is set by its editorial context, not a fixed publisher-wide subject area. Proceedings volumes don't have a fixed scope at all — each one follows the scope of the conference it comes from, agreed with the organizer on a case-by-case basis.
Publication Ethics
Every Calm Publika journal, book and proceedings volume follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices. We expect honesty, fairness, transparency and accountability from everyone involved in the publication process — authors, reviewers and editors alike.
Misconduct we act on includes data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, undisclosed conflicts of interest, simultaneous submission to more than one journal, image or citation manipulation, and attempts to manipulate the peer-review process. Suspected misconduct is evaluated fairly, confidentially and in line with COPE's guidance — responses range from requesting clarification to correction, expression of concern or retraction.
Editors evaluate manuscripts on their merits regardless of the authors' race, gender, nationality or institutional affiliation, protect the confidentiality of submissions under review, and disclose their own conflicts of interest.
Authors submit original work, represent their findings honestly, properly cite and acknowledge the work of others, disclose funding and conflicts of interest, and cooperate with the editorial process — including providing underlying data if requested during review.
Reviewers evaluate manuscripts objectively within their area of expertise, keep the content of submissions confidential, decline to review where a conflict of interest exists, and flag concerns about originality or ethics to the editor.
Complaints about an editorial decision, the review process, or the conduct of an editor or reviewer can be raised through our contact page — every complaint is handled confidentially and in writing.
Peer Review Process
Review looks different depending on what we're publishing — pick the type below.
Every submission to every Calm Publika journal goes through double-blind peer review — reviewer and author identities are withheld from each other in both directions, so the argument is judged on its own merits.
- Initial screening. Incoming manuscripts are checked against the journal's scope, formatting requirements and originality before being sent to reviewers.
- Review. At least two independent reviewers, chosen for relevant expertise, evaluate each manuscript.
- Decision. The handling editor weighs reviewer recommendations and issues one of: accept, minor revisions, major revisions, or decline.
- Revision. Authors respond with a point-by-point account of how each comment was addressed.
Timelines are communicated up front when a submission enters review, with reminders along the way — not open-ended waiting.
Book proposals are currently reviewed directly by Calm Publika's own editorial team, rather than through a formal double-blind reviewer pipeline — our book program is newer and lower-volume than our journals, so this is handled case by case for now. Every proposal is still checked for originality and evaluated on its merits before acceptance.
As the number of titles grows, we expect to formalize this into the same kind of structured, multi-reviewer process our journals already use.
Proceedings papers are reviewed by the originating conference's own program committee or organizer, before we're involved — that review is what determines which papers were accepted for presentation in the first place.
Calm Publika's role is to verify that a genuine, independent review process took place before agreeing to publish the accepted papers as a permanent, citable volume — we don't re-run double-blind review ourselves for proceedings.
Open Access Policy
Every article, book and proceedings paper we publish is free to read immediately on publication — no subscription, registration or paywall, for anyone, anywhere. There is no embargo period.
All of it is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Readers may copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build on the material for any purpose, including commercially, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.
Originality & Plagiarism Screening
Every submission is screened for originality before it reaches reviewers, not after. Plagiarism — presenting another author's language, data or ideas as one's own without proper attribution — is not tolerated at any level, including self-plagiarism of an author's own previously published work.
We are in the process of formalizing the specific screening tool and similarity thresholds used across every journal, book and proceedings volume; this section will be updated with those specifics once finalized. Until then, every manuscript is reviewed for originality as a standard part of the editorial process.
Generative AI Policy
Generative AI tools cannot be listed as an author or co-author on any Calm Publika publication, and cannot be held accountable for a submission's content — that responsibility always rests with the named human authors.
For authors: AI-assisted tools may be used for language editing or improving readability. Using generative AI to create or alter research data, figures or images intended for publication is not permitted without full disclosure in the manuscript. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy of anything an AI tool contributed to.
For reviewers and editors: uploading a manuscript under review into a generative AI system is a breach of confidentiality and is not permitted. Editorial decisions and review recommendations must reflect independent human judgment.
Retraction, Withdrawal & Correction
Retraction. An article may be retracted for major scientific error that invalidates its findings, redundant publication, or serious ethical breaches such as plagiarism or fabricated data. Retractions follow COPE's retraction guidelines: the editor reviews the case, the author is given the opportunity to respond, and — if retraction proceeds — a public retraction notice is linked to the original article, which remains accessible and marked as retracted.
Correction. Minor errors that don't affect a paper's validity or conclusions can be corrected through a published erratum (publisher's error) or corrigendum (author's error), linked to the original article.
Withdrawal. Authors who wish to withdraw a submission still under review should contact the editorial team as early as possible — through the journal's own submission system, the book platform, or directly via our contact page for proceedings. Requests are evaluated case by case.
Copyright & License
Authors retain copyright to their own work. By publishing with Calm Publika — journal, book or proceedings volume — authors grant us a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute and preserve the article — they don't sign copyright away.
Published articles carry a CC BY 4.0 license (see Open Access Policy above). Authors are free to reuse, archive and redistribute their own published work — in an institutional repository, on a personal site, or in a future publication — with attribution to the original title.
Privacy Statement
Names and email addresses entered into any Calm Publika journal's submission system, our book platform, or our contact form are used exclusively for that title's stated editorial purposes — communicating about a submission, review, or publication. They are never sold, shared with third parties, or used for any other purpose.
Business Model
Calm Publika does not charge readers anything, ever — every publication is free to read from the moment it's released. How production is funded differs by type — pick the one below.
Publication is supported in part by an Article Processing Charge (APC), paid by authors (or their institution/funder) only once a manuscript is accepted — never at submission, and never as a condition of peer review. The exact APC amount is still being finalized and will be published here, and on each journal's own site, before it takes effect.
There is no charge to submit a manuscript, and no charge if a manuscript is declined.
The funding model for books is still being worked out — whether that's an author-side processing charge, institutional support, or another arrangement. Nothing will be charged to a prospective author before this is finalized and published here.
Proceedings costs are agreed directly with each conference organizer as part of the "by invitation" conversation — there's no fixed public price list, since the arrangement depends on the size and needs of each conference.
Advertising Policy
Calm Publika does not currently carry third-party advertising on any journal, book or proceedings site. Editorial decisions are made independently of any commercial relationship, and no advertising placement will ever influence what gets published or how it's presented.
Archiving
Published articles are intended to remain accessible independently of any single journal's continued operation. We are in the process of formalizing long-term digital preservation arrangements (such as a LOCKSS Private Network or an equivalent archive) across every journal, book and proceedings volume — this section will be updated with the specific arrangement once it's in place.
This policy applies across every Calm Publika journal, book and proceedings volume, including
Questions about a policy?