SCHOLAR FREEDOM
Our mission is to open your credible research direct to the public & ensure you can get fair pay
Start publishing for free!
Not a member? Sign up for free to self-publish your credible research and only paywall it if you want to!
Welcome
Message from the Founder
I left academia after 30 years of studying, working, and observing universities in Australia, and created Scholar Freedom to address two problems that I had experienced – gatekeeping in journals and wage theft in universities. But the serious problems of epistemic and financial inequity/violence are global and not easy to fix, which is why our site is complex. We're a radical alternative to the status quo of neoliberal academic publishing because this serves the public's interest, and human rights is our business model. Our system reforms extend far beyond the key features listed below, so take your time in deciding if we're the right publisher for you – and if we're not, then we wish you well in your academic writing career.
- We are an academic self-publishing platform that additionally provides advocacy for oppressed and exploited researchers.
- We are free to join but paying a small membership fee to cover our business costs helps keeps the platform community-owned.
- Every member is a gatekeeper and peer review is open to mitigate bullying and keep the platform community-led.
- We support open access where authors have chosen this, otherwise paywalling their work is reparative from extractive capitalism.
Dr Pooja Sawrikar
Founder and Director
What's on this page
1 Who are we for?
We are for researchers who stand against the harmful status quo of academic publishing as an act of deep emancipatory self-respect.
We're revolutionising academic publishing by addressing its root problems which no other publisher does – neoliberalism, modern slavery, racism, and sexism – so our grassroots solution is not for everyone.
Show me more
2 How our publishing works
If you're ready to jump off the journal rejection belt that's compromising your academic freedom, here's a summary of our workflows.
-> Format your work correctly
-> Approve your author contribution
-> Implement your own sales plan
-> Understand and follow the rules
-> ALL members share the gatekeeping
-> Implement your own sales plan
-> Understand and follow the rules
-> ALL members share the gatekeeping
Show me more
3 Quick links
After you've read our site to confirm it's for you – and this will take time as we've reformed the system – then simply follow these clear steps!
-> Sign up for free
-> Select your membership plan
-> Connect with Stripe
-> Prepare your work
-> Review its quality
-> Connect with Stripe
-> Prepare your work
-> Review its quality
Show me more
4 What are you ready to do?
In heeding the call for radical reimagining, our infrastructure still supports researchers' checks on quality/defensibility for the public's good.
-> Upload your preprint
-> Review a preprint
-> Advertise your editing service
-> Upload your publication
-> Search the database
-> Advertise your editing service
-> Upload your publication
-> Search the database
Show me more
Recent news
Radical change in the left and right has been long time coming
Word is spreading!
309,129 Page views
Our site is for all key stakeholders
From the writers to the readers of credible knowledge
From the writers to the readers of credible knowledge
Researchers
Reviewers
Journal editors
Academic editors
University promotion panels
Research funders
Policy makers
University librarians
Scholarly associations
All industries
The public
Ahead of your time for calling out wage theft as part of business models.
- Professor of Open Access (OA), Aus 2023
Too good to be true because you've just fixed all the problems!
- Librarian, UK 2024
Reports
Annual Report 2024/25
Forthcoming (July 2025)
The genocide of Palestinians (words that break my heart as I type them) seems to have split the working world into two camps: those who can carry on as before and those who can’t. I fall in the latter. I had a destiny in academic publishing to fulfill, and I've done it now. This report announces that I am looking for the right business partner to hand the baton of system reform.
Connected puppet strings
AR 24/25 Compendium
Publicly-funded datasets in the US recently disappeared, making clear the case for open infrastructure and the preservation of research, but the presumption for 'open access' – that the research is FULLY publicly-funded – is rarely true due to modern slavery. We show where we fill the gap in this early-release Compendium to our upcoming Annual Report (July 2025).
Annual Report 2023/24
Read our report
As a publisher rooted in what's best for researchers, we are counter culture. It's raised eyebrows but we took all critiques seriously, making last year's annual report a lengthy part-manifesto. It explains the reasoning behind each element of our radically left system design and business model, as well as our progress toward equity in academic publishing.
Site additions
Our cost by user type
Hybrid Diamond OA
We've recently added content clarifying how we've pushed the boundaries on innovation as the only academic publisher that's hybrid Diamond Open Access (OA) at the authors' choice. This means researchers can donate their earnings to marginalised communities who've shared their suffering in the hope your research will ease it and not repeat the same extraction.
Who payment can go to
Author decision tree
If the labour and equipment have not been FULLY paid for by taxpayer dollars, then authors, employers, and funders can paywall the work. Decline in public funding has caused universities to search for different revenue sources, and unlike any other publisher our innovative funding model meets this need, but without bypassing the scrutiny of independent ongoing open peer review (OPR).
Responses
Aus public access model
Read our response
Australia's outgoing Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS, 2021-2024) sought sector-wide advice on their proposal for a 'Public access model'. We applaud its boldness and intent to reform scholarly publishing, but also offer deeper reflections from the standpoint of the only anti-slavery academic publisher on inter/national impact as it moves from development to implementation.
US Executive Orders
Read our response
In Feb 2025, several words and phrases were identified as "forbidden" in research publications by the United States (US) President reflecting "anti-woke" science. These are clarifying times that affirm the necessity of independent academic publishing, and are sifting authentic from performative businesses of 'DEIAJ' (diversity, equity, inclusion, acccessibility, justice). Blog #14 has more.
Copyright © 2020-2025. All rights reserved.
Scholar Freedom® Pty Ltd (ACN 651 301 754).
Site statistics last updated: 31 May 2025
Site statistics last updated: 31 May 2025
About us
Why we had to be built
Modern slavery
Self-publishing
How payment works
Media Centre
Annual Reports
Our blog
Advisors
For researchers
Benefits for you
Select your plan
Prepare your work
Upload your preprint
Upload your publication
For reviewers
Why you are important
Our philosophy/reward
Sample review form
Begin review of preprint
Plagiarism concerns?
For readers
Useful things to know
Search our database
Gauge credible research
For editors
Your role/responsibilities
Advertise your service
Learn our in-house style
Sample formatted output
For librarians
Looking for an ISSN?
Looking to subscribe?
Hybrid Diamond OA
Structural DEIAJ
For all users
Book product demo
Become a sponsor
Make a donation
Book keynote speaker
Future wealth distribution
Job opportunities
Investment opportunities
Help
FAQs
Community forum
User Guide
Short Guides
Quick Checklist
Watch an upload
Get in touch
Let's keep in touch!
We use Sendgrid for our emails. You can unsubscribe any time. We promise no spam.
Subscribe
Beta mode
Site map
Terms
Contact
Protect civilians from being killed
Always was, always will be