Routledge is the humanities and social sciences (HSS) imprint of Taylor & Francis, and by most measures the largest academic publisher in those fields worldwide. Founded in London in 1836 by the bookseller George Routledge, the imprint was acquired by Taylor & Francis in 1998 and has operated since 2004 within Informa plc. Today Routledge publishes roughly 1,800 journals and about 5,000 new books a year across sociology, education, psychology, politics, economics, area studies, media, sport, and the arts, from its headquarters at Milton Park in Abingdon, UK.

If your paper sits in the humanities or social sciences, a Routledge journal is very likely on your shortlist. This guide covers how the Routledge list fits inside Taylor & Francis, the open-access routes and APCs, the peer review model, and how to submit.

Routledge journals range from century-old field-defining titles to newer open venues. Use the routes below to narrow your choice.

Routledge concentrates on the humanities and social sciences within the wider Taylor & Francis portfolio of more than 2,700 journals:

• Social sciences - sociology, politics and international relations, geography, development studies, criminology, and area studies.
• Education - among the largest education journal lists anywhere, from early-childhood research to higher-education policy.
• Business and economics - management, marketing, HRM, accounting, and heterodox economics.
• Humanities and the arts - history, philosophy, literature, media and cultural studies, music, and performance.
• Behavioral science and health-adjacent HSS - psychology, sport and exercise, and public policy.

Routledge is also a major book publisher (Routledge Handbooks, research monographs, and textbooks), with a backlist of well over 100,000 titles - but this guide focuses on the journal side.

Routledge journals follow Taylor & Francis open-access policy. Four routes:

Licenses offered are CC BY, CC BY-NC, and CC BY-NC-ND, with funder mandates usually requiring CC BY. Taylor & Francis operates an APC waiver and discount program for authors in eligible lower-income countries. HSS APCs sit well below the STM flagships, and most Routledge titles still charge nothing if you publish behind the paywall.

• Default model: double-anonymized peer review - the norm across the HSS list, meaning reviewers do not see author names and vice versa.
• Review culture: HSS review is typically slower and more discursive than STM; expect substantive engagement with argument and framing, not just methods.
• Turnaround: highly journal-dependent; two to four months to first decision is common, and longer at heavily submitted titles. Check the journal's own stated median times where published.

1. Pick the journal. Browse the Routledge subject lists on tandfonline.com, and read recent issues to confirm fit and conversation.
2. Read the Instructions for Authors. Every Routledge journal has title-specific requirements - word limits, abstract style, and reference format (Harvard author-date, APA, or Chicago depending on the title).
3. Format your manuscript. Use the journal's template on SciSpace to match the required style before submission.
4. Submit online. Most Routledge journals use ScholarOne Manuscripts, and Taylor & Francis has been progressively moving titles to its own Submission Portal - the journal's Instructions for Authors page tells you which system applies.
5. Respond to review. Double-anonymized review means you should anonymize the manuscript and any self-citations that could identify you.

Taylor & Francis, including Routledge, is a member of COPE, OASPA, and STM, and applies COPE guidance on authorship, plagiarism, corrections, and retractions across the portfolio. Editorial policies - including AI-use disclosure and data-sharing expectations - are set at Taylor & Francis level and detailed on each journal's policy pages.