(updated Feb. 2026)
As I have noted in previous posts, self-archiving (green OA) is a way for authors to provide open access to their research articles without having to pay the expensive publication fees associated with gold and hybrid open access. However, because some publishers place restrictions on when and where an eprint can be archived or shared, some authors may decide it's not worth the trouble to proceed with the green OA route.
The good news is that a number of publishers have dispensed with embargoes on postprints altogether and/or have loosened constraints on deposit locations. This post provides information on 10 journal publishers - APA, Bloomsbury, Brill, Cambridge Univ. Press, Duke Univ. Press, Emerald, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, SAGE, Univ. of California Press and Univ. of Pennsylvania Press - that have zero embargoes on self-archiving postprints, but you can also consult the Open Policy Finder to check the policies of others.
I hope this will encourage forced migration authors to give green OA a try!
Introduction
Most of the publishers listed below allow postprints to be deposited in an institutional or non-profit subject repository and/or on an author's personal web site immediately after an article's formal publication. In general, they do not permit sharing postprints on commercial platforms like Academia.edu, ResearchGate or SSRN, although there are some exceptions. (Check their self-archiving policies for more specific details.) For comparative purposes, I have also noted the most current APCs that each publisher charges for hybrid open access.
American Psychological Association
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$3500
Bloomsbury Professional
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in the Journal of Immigration, Asylum & Nationality Law. Note that postprints may be shared via Academic.edu and ResearchGate.
- APC = hybrid open access is not offered
Brill
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in the European Journal of Migration and Law.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$2695
Cambridge Univ. Press
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Nationalities Papers.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$3255 (note: this journal recently flipped to gold open access)
Duke Univ. Press
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Social Text.
- APC = hybrid open access is not offered
Emerald
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$4351
Johns Hopkins Univ. Press
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Human Rights Quarterly. Note that JHU only allows postprints to be deposited in non-commercial institutional repositories. Exceptions for deposits in subject repositories are made based on funder requirements.
- APC for hybrid OA = not specified
Sage
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.
- APC for hybrid OA = US$4710
Univ. of California Press
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is the publisher PDF of an article in Current History. Note that UC Press allows final published PDFs to be deposited in repositories or on an author's personal website at any time, while the postprint versions can be posted on Academic.edu and ResearchGate.
- APC = hybrid open access is not offered
Univ. of Pennsylvania Press
- Self-archiving policy
- Example: This is a postprint of an article in Humanity that was deposited in the author's institutional repository.
- APC = hybrid open access is not offered
Takeaways for authors
So what does this mean for authors who have published articles with one of the a/m publishers? First, you can make your work open access without having to pay an APC! If you are affiliated with a university, then the next step is to see if it has established an institutional repository (IR) that accepts postprints (as opposed to just theses and dissertations). You can do this either by contacting your library or checking the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR).
If indeed you have access to an IR, visit the site and follow the instructions for making a deposit. If you do not have access to an institutional repository, consider using a subject repository like the Forced Migration Research Archive (FMRA) or an all-purpose repository like Zenodo to share your work. Once your postprint has been uploaded, share it widely!
If you are more technically inclined, consider setting up a basic website using a free website builder like the ones rated in this PCMag article.
Finally, if you decide to proceed with this last option, you should know that there are other major journal publishers who will allow you to immediately share your postprint on a personal web site only (i.e., they still maintain embargoes on postprints that are self-archived in repositories). This includes Oxford Univ. Press, Springer and Taylor & Francis. (See this table for more info.)
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