Publication Guide
Portland Press is the wholly-owned publishing arm of the Biochemical Society, the UK learned society for the molecular biosciences founded in 1911. It publishes a compact, focused portfolio: five peer-reviewed journals spanning biochemistry, cellular and molecular life sciences, and translational medicine, plus The Biochemist magazine. As a not-for-profit society publisher, its surpluses are returned to the scientific community through the Biochemical Society's grants, meetings, and education programmes.
The portfolio is anchored by the Biochemical Journal, one of the oldest biochemistry journals in the world (founded 1906 and owned by the Society since the 1910s). This guide covers which Portland Press journal fits your paper, the open-access routes (including the Subscribe to Open model adopted for its review journals), fees, peer review, and how to submit.
Which Portland Press journal fits your paper?
| You're most likely to... | Choose this journal |
|---|---|
| Report primary research in biochemistry, cell biology, or molecular biosciences | Biochemical Journal - the flagship primary-research title, publishing across biochemistry, cellular biosciences, and molecular biology since 1906. |
| Report translational or clinical-mechanism research | Clinical Science - links molecular and cellular research to medicine, covering cardiovascular science, genomics, inflammation, nephrology, hepatology, cancer, and respiratory biology. |
| Publish sound science fully open access | Bioscience Reports - the Society's fully open-access journal; articles are assessed on scientific soundness across cell biology and the molecular life sciences. |
| Write or contribute a commissioned mini-review | Biochemical Society Transactions - commissioned mini-reviews across the molecular and cellular biosciences; open access in 2026 via Subscribe to Open. |
| Contribute to a themed collection of expert reviews | Essays in Biochemistry - themed review issues written by leading experts; open access in 2026 via Subscribe to Open. |
What Portland Press publishes
- Biochemical Journal - primary research in biochemistry, cellular biosciences, and molecular biology; the Society's flagship journal for well over a century.
- Clinical Science - translational research connecting molecular mechanisms to clinical medicine.
- Bioscience Reports - fully open access, soundness-based peer review, CC BY licence.
- Biochemical Society Transactions - commissioned mini-reviews.
- Essays in Biochemistry - themed expert review collections.
- The Biochemist - the Society's bi-monthly community magazine (not a research journal).
All research journal content older than 12 months is free to read in the Portland Press online archive, and the Biochemical Journal's archive is open back to 1906.
Open access and fees
Portland Press has deliberately moved away from author-facing charges. Four routes:
| Route | How it works | Cost to author |
|---|---|---|
| Read & Publish | Corresponding authors at institutions with an R&P agreement publish OA by default (CC BY) across the entire portfolio | $0 |
| Subscribe to Open (S2O) | The 2026 volumes of Biochemical Society Transactions (Vol 54) and Essays in Biochemistry (Vol 70) are open access, funded collectively by subscribing libraries | $0 |
| Gold OA with APC | Available only in Bioscience Reports, and only when no R&P agreement applies; DOAJ records the APC around $2,155 - check the current Portland Press price list | ~$2,155 (Society members discounted) |
| Green OA | The accepted manuscript may be deposited in any repository with no embargo, across all journals | $0 |
APCs are not charged in any journal other than Bioscience Reports. Authors from Research4Life (HINARI) Group A countries publish OA free of charge in Bioscience Reports, and Group B authors receive a discount. Biochemical Society members also receive APC discounts.
Peer review
Portland Press journals use single-anonymized peer review as the default model: reviewers know author identities, but reviewer identities are not disclosed. Bioscience Reports assesses manuscripts on scientific soundness rather than perceived novelty or impact, while the Biochemical Journal and Clinical Science apply conventional significance-based editorial selection. Review journals (Biochemical Society Transactions, Essays in Biochemistry) commission their mini-reviews, so contact the editorial office before writing an unsolicited review.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Match your manuscript type - primary research (Biochemical Journal), translational science (Clinical Science), sound-science OA (Bioscience Reports), or commissioned reviews (Transactions, Essays).
- Read the instructions to authors. Each journal has title-specific formatting and data requirements on portlandpress.com.
- Prepare your manuscript. Portland Press uses a numbered citation style; SciSpace templates handle the formatting automatically.
- Submit online. Journals use eJournalPress-based submission portals (e.g., biochemj.msubmit.net for the Biochemical Journal) - each journal page links to its own portal.
- Check your OA coverage. Before submission, check whether your institution holds a Read & Publish agreement so your article is published open access at no cost to you.
Ethics and integrity
Portland Press is a member of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and OASPA, and follows COPE guidance on corrections, retractions, and authorship disputes. As a society-owned, not-for-profit publisher, editorial decisions sit with academic editors drawn from the Biochemical Society community, and publishing income supports the Society's charitable scientific activities.
