Publication Guide
The Geological Society of London (GSL) is the world's oldest geological society, founded in 1807 and granted a Royal Charter in 1825. Beyond its role as the UK's professional body for geoscientists, it runs a respected not-for-profit publishing operation - the Geological Society Publishing House in Bath - producing 8 peer-reviewed journals and several long-running book series, all hosted on the Lyell Collection, the Society's online platform launched in 2007. The Lyell Collection now holds more than 31,500 peer-reviewed articles, with archives reaching back to 1811.
Surplus from publishing supports the Society's charitable work, so publishing with GSL also funds the geoscience community. This guide covers the journal portfolio, open-access routes and APCs, peer review, and how to submit.
Which Geological Society journal fits your paper?
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Have a broad-interest earth or planetary science paper | Journal of the Geological Society - the Society's flagship, publishing interdisciplinary research across the full range of Earth and planetary sciences since 1845. |
| Work in engineering geology or hydrogeology | Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology (QJEGH) - geology applied to civil engineering and groundwater management. |
| Work on subsurface energy, petroleum systems or CCS | Petroleum Geoscience (co-owned with EAGE) or Geoenergy (launched 2023) for the energy transition. |
| Have applied geochemistry results | Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis - co-owned with the Association of Applied Geochemists. |
| Want a fully open-access, society-run venue on geoscience and sustainability | Earth Science, Systems and Society (ES3) - Gold OA, launched 2021. |
| Have a thematic collection or conference-linked chapter | Geological Society Special Publications - the flagship peer-reviewed book series, 550+ volumes across 30+ subject areas. |
| Have regional geology of Scotland or northern England | Scottish Journal of Geology or Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. |
What the Geological Society actually publishes
- 8 peer-reviewed journals: Journal of the Geological Society, QJEGH, Petroleum Geoscience (with EAGE), Geoenergy (with EAGE), Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (with AAG), Earth Science, Systems and Society, Scottish Journal of Geology (with the Glasgow and Edinburgh geological societies), and Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society.
- Special Publications - the flagship book series: illustrated, peer-reviewed thematic volumes; more than 550 published across 30+ subject areas.
- Other book series - Memoirs (60+ volumes), Engineering Geology Special Publications, conference proceedings, and GeoHorizons, a fully open-access book series run in partnership with the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
Open access and APCs
GSL supports Gold, hybrid, and Green open access. Gold OA articles are published under a CC BY 4.0 licence on payment of an article processing charge; every journal in the portfolio offers a Gold option, and ES3 (plus the GeoHorizons book series) is fully open access. Subscription (non-OA) publication remains free for authors in the hybrid titles.
| Route | Cost (2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold OA - standard APC | £2,600 / ~$3,640 / €3,120 | Applies across the major journals and Special Publications |
| Fellow / student member discount | 25% off the APC | Corresponding author (or at least half the authors) must be members; EAGE and AAG members get similar discounts on co-owned titles |
| Read & publish agreement | £0 to the author | APCs waived for corresponding authors at participating institutions (UKRI, USGS, Natural Resources Canada, many universities) |
| Research4Life waiver | £0 | Full APC waiver for Group A/B country authors on ES3 and GeoHorizons |
| Green OA (self-archiving) | £0 | Accepted manuscripts may be self-archived under the Society's policy |
APC processing is handled through ChronosHub. Prices are revised annually - always check the Society's current open-access pages before submission.
Peer review
GSL journals use single-anonymized peer review as the default model, handled by academic editors and specialist reviewers drawn from the international geoscience community. Special Publications volumes are peer reviewed chapter by chapter under volume editors. Time to first decision varies by journal and season - typically a couple of months - so consult the individual journal page for current turnaround expectations.
How to submit
- Pick the journal using the decision table above, and read its scope statement on the Lyell Collection.
- Read the author instructions. Each title has specific length limits - JGS papers, for example, run up to 16 typeset pages (~1,000 words per page).
- Format references in GSL author-year style. SciSpace templates handle the Society's citation format automatically.
- Submit online. GSL journals use ScholarOne (Manuscript Central) submission sites; the exact link is on each journal's author page.
- Arrange open access - check whether your institution has a read & publish deal before paying an APC.
Ethics and integrity
The Geological Society is a member of COPE and follows its guidelines on misconduct, corrections, and retractions. Authorship, competing-interest, and data-availability expectations are set out in the Society's publishing ethics policies on the Lyell Collection publishing hub.
