Running a special issue

A special issue collects papers on one theme, often led by guest editors. It attracts new authors and new readers.

Create one

Open Journal settings → Special issues → New special issue and fill in:

• Title and Call for papers: the scope, topics and anything authors should know
• Guest editors: one per line, name then affiliation after a comma
• Submission deadline (optional): after this date authors can no longer choose it
• Published in issue (optional): the regular issue its articles will appear in

It gets its own page on the journal site (Issues → Special issues) with a Submit to this special issue button. Share that page's link in your call for papers.

Submissions

Authors choose the special issue on the first step of the submission form (the button on its page selects it for them). Editors see Special issue: … at the top of the manuscript. To let a guest editor handle these submissions, invite them as a section editor under Users & roles.

Publishing

Accepted papers go through production as usual and are published in an issue, or online first. The special issue's page lists every published article from it, and each article links back to it.

Closing

Untick Accepting submissions (or let the deadline pass) to close it. Untick Shown on the journal site to hide it.